Cheaters
by littlebit1979
Summary: Bella catches her long term boyfriend,Jake in bed with a strawberry blonde. After moving in with her friend Rose she comes across the strawberry blond again with boyfriend Edward.Does Bella tell him the truth, or just keep quiet?
1. Chapter 1

Cheaters Chapter One

"Jake! Jake are you home?" I yelled into the seemingly empty apartment.

_He must have gone somewhere with Quil. His car was outside so he had to be off with one of the boys._

I finished putting up the groceries that I had brought home and headed to take a shower. As I approached my bedroom door, I heard it. I heard _THEM_.

At first I was in total denial. I tried to tell myself it was the TV or neighbors even. But I knew that once I opened that damn door it was over. My world was about to change, and everything that I had known before was going to be over. But I did it anyways.

I opened the door and gasped at the sight in front of me. There on the bed laid Jacob. He was naked and groaning. On top of him was a long legged strawberry blonde. He was fucking that bitch in our bed. They were so taken in their moment that they didn't even notice me.

Well, they didn't notice me until I threw my sneaker at her head. It hit her upside the back of the head and she fell forward. This interruption caused Jake to look at me. His eyes grew wide as he stared at me standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Bella…." He started to say. I cut him off quickly.

"Shut the fuck up Jake. Just shut the fuck up now." I turned around and left them there. I had nothing to say to that cheating bastard.

I drove around Seattle aimlessly for hours. I don't even know how long I drove. My phone rang constantly. I didn't answer it because I knew it was Jake trying to get me to talk to him. I had nothing left to say to him.

I needed somewhere to go for the night. I would eventually find my own apartment, but that would take some time to do. I made enough money at the library to supplement Jakes paycheck, but not enough for me to live anywhere decent on my own.

I didn't want to go to a hotel for the night, but it was looking like it might be my only option. Then one name crossed my mind, and I quickly dialed her number.

"Rose..."

*************************************************

"Here Bells, these pants might be long on you, but they should be fine." Rose handed me a pair of pajama pants.

"Thanks Rose. Thanks for everything." I hugged her tightly and took the pants.

"No thanks needed. You have been my best friend since we were kids; I wouldn't ever leave you out in the cold."

"Thank God someone cares about me…" I muttered.

"Oh Jake cares, he is just stupid. Change and we will talk. Alice is out in the living room getting our supplies together." She smirked and walked out of the room.

Rose was never a hundred percent sold on my relationship with Jake; I knew that she was secretly doing a happy dance that it was over. She'd never say anything like that in front of me because she loves me, but I knew that she was doing flips on the inside.

Over the past two years Jake has become a wedge in my friendship with Rose. I never wanted it that way, and tried my damnest to stop it. But she didn't like him, and he certainly didn't like her. They fought like cats and dogs. She told me several times that she thought he was a bastard, but I just waved her off. Damn her for being right.

I made my way out to the living room where I found Alice and Rose both waiting for me. They had pints of ice cream, spoons, and bottles of wine coolers waiting. I knew how these nights go. I have done them with Rose before when we lost boyfriends. We were going to indulge ourselves with crap and talk about how stupid boys are.

Alice was bouncing on the couch when I made my way out there. This was my first time meeting Alice. I knew that Rose had been dating her brother for a few months, and she hit it off with Alice too. So now they were sharing an apartment while going to school. They had a third roommate, Jessica, but she moved out after a huge argument. Apparently Jessica had the hots for Alice's brother and tried to seduce him. That was the last thing Jessica did before she was tossed out on her ass.

"So, before we begin the boy bashing, Alice tell me about you." I grabbed a pint of chocolate ice cream and spoon.

"Oh! Let's see where to begin…" she tapped her chin. "I am twenty two years old. I am dating Roses brother Jasper. We've been together for about a year. I am also studying fashion design here at UW."

"Sounds like the basics." I giggled.

"Now, spill it Swan, what the fuck happened!" Rose snatched another pint of ice cream for herself and dug into it with her spoon.

"Rose, it was like a freaking nightmare!" I took a bite of the ice cream. "I got home from the store, and I saw his car out front. When I got upstairs all the lights were off, I assumed he went off with one of the boys, so I just went about my business. I put away the food and even pulled out some chicken for dinner. I went to the bedroom to get my clothes for a shower and that's when I heard them." I could feel my eyes narrow. "That bitch was seriously riding him, right there in my fucking bed!"

Both Alice and Rose gasped. "Oh shit…." Rose mumbled.

"Oh shit is right. They didn't even realize that I was there at first. So I threw my sneaker at her head. I threw it so hard that when it hit her, she fell forward." I saw as both of them smiled.

"Bella, that fucking dog doesn't deserve you. He never has." Rose growled.

"I know Rose. I should have listened to you a long time ago. I was just blinded by love or something as equally as stupid." I dug my spoon deeper into the ice cream.

"No, you weren't blind. You are just too fucking nice for your own good."

"Rose, I really love Jake. I don't know how to get passed this." The tears started to take over. "This is such bullshit! Why would he do something like that to me?"

Rose wrapped her arms around me. She held me like that for what seemed to be an eternity. She let go because my phone started to ring. I didn't have to look at the caller ID to know who was calling me at 1am. Jake.

"I got this…" Rose snatched the phone off the table, and before I could stop her she answered the call.

"Jacob?" She sneered. "Yeah, Bells is with me you bastard."

"Fuck you, you did this. I hope your little slut likes your dick enough to stick with you, because I can promise you that you won't be with Bells ever again."

I could hear him yelling at her. I couldn't understand the words, but I could still hear his voice.

"Guess what dog! No one cares about your sorry ass excuses. You fucked up, just like I knew you would. Now she is gone from you forever! Beat that bitch!" Rose snapped the phone shut.

I could see Alice's mouth hanging open. I chuckled and shook my head. Obviously she had never been witness to Rose's full wrath.

"What's wrong Alice? Never seen her go after someone like that before?" I snickered.

"I've seen her worked up and all, but not like that. When Jessica was coming onto my brother and all, Rose was pissed but she didn't speak to her like that!"

This revelation surprised me. I would think that if someone was trying hit on her boyfriend, Rose would try to kill them.

"You mean that she didn't do that when Jessica was going after Emmett?"

"Emmett? Jessica never went after Emmett." She looked confused.

"I thought Jessica was sent packing after some incident with your brother."

"Oh!" I could see the confusion clear up. "That wasn't about Emmett. That was about my other brother Edward!"

"My bad, I always assumed that it was about Emmett." I felt like a moron. Of course the only reason Jessica was still walking on this Earth was because it wasn't about Emmett. "Tell me about how you and Rose met."

I broke into the wine coolers now. I drank half of my first one in one gulp.

"I met Jasper at a coffee shop. We started meeting their regularly for awhile. We both were just testing the waters so to say. We wanted to get to know each other better. Then once we officially started dating he insisted that I meet his twin. After one conversation with Rose, we have been best of friends since then. I moved in here a few months ago. I wanted to get out of my dorm and she wanted another roommate, so here I am! I introduced her to Emmett a few weeks after meeting her and those two have been together constantly since then." She squealed.

I was actually sad by this story. Rose was my best friend, not hers. I was supposed to be sharing this damn apartment with Rose, not Alice. I had not even met Emmett because I had been too damn busy dealing Jacob. Damn Jacob. I screwed everything up because of that damn dog. Alice took notice of my sad face.

"I think you and I will be the best of friends too! I can just feel it." She wore a genuine smile, so I smiled back at her. "So how long have you and Jacob been together?"

"Two years. Two years down the drain in twenty minutes. I hope that bastard got blue balls." I finished my drink.

Rose choked on her drink. "That's fantastic Bells. Only you would have that thought."

I shrugged.

"So where are you going to live now?" Rose pressed.

"I haven't figured it all out. My paycheck isn't going to cover much…."

"Then you can have that empty room!" Alice squealed.

"Oh no Alice, that wasn't my intention by coming here…." I tried to protest.

"Shut up Swan. Welcome to your new apartment. Rent is due on the first." Rose smirked at me. "And tomorrow we will go visit the mutt to get the rest of your stuff."

I busted out laughing. We all did. For the next three hours we ate ice cream, drank, and whined about stupid boys. I was thrilled to be done with Jake. I missed my friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Cheaters- Chapter Two

Facing Jake

EPOV

"Hey little sister," I walked into the apartment to find my sister Alice attempting to cook breakfast.

"Hush, you might wake Bella. My guess is she is not going to be in the best of moods this morning." She playfully snapped back.

Bella was the whole reason I was at the apartment at 9 am on a Sunday morning. Usually I would still be cuddled in my bed with Tanya, but she had a flight to be on this morning and I had this. Alice called late last night and asked if I would mind helping her friend get her stuff from her old apartment. I had only heard the part of the story where she walked in on him with another female before I agreed. That was some seriously messed up shit. I was glad that Tanya and I were strong enough that we didn't have to worry about stupid shit like cheating.

"Well, sorry Alice. I didn't realize that I was beating her out of bed. I figured since we would be packing up her stuff, she'd be up and ready." I rolled my eyes and took a bite of toast.

"Yes, well she doesn't know about this little trip today. She thinks that she and Rose are going. She doesn't know that Rose and I called in reinforcements."

"Why?" This seemed like an odd thing to keep from someone.

"She has been with this guy for years, and lived with him for the last two. She is a little attached to him. Rose wants to make sure that there are enough of us to pack up her things and get her out of there. Apparently his cheating isn't his only flaw, so Rose doesn't want Bella to get the chance to feel bad about it all and not leave. Not to mention, we don't know if he is going to be there or not, so we need some muscle." She smirked at me.

"Are you saying he would hit her?" I could already feel myself growing angry. That was worse than cheating and I would deck the guy for the hell of it.

"No, he didn't hit her. But it would make life easier if there were some boys to put between him getting to her when we are there. Rose said he is really manipulative and she doesn't put anything past him. Maybe having some boys there will make him think twice about some of his tactics." She flipped a pancake.

"Whatever you say little sister, I am at your beck and call." She laughed.

I was eating more than my far share of the breakfast she was making when Jasper and Emmett came walking through the door.

"Oh hells no, get that greedy bastard away from the food!" Emmett hollered. I gave Alice a look that was meant to tell her to yell at him about his volume.

"Emmett! Shut up! Bella is still asleep." Rose said as she walked out of her room. She had obviously just finished getting ready for the day and decided to join us when she heard her boyfriend's voice.

"She's not up? I'll be right back!" Jasper dropped the arm load of boxes he had and headed toward the spare bedroom. I raised an eyebrow at Alice. She returned the gesture with a roll of her eyes.

"Jasper and Bella are good friends. There is nothing there."

Rose pushed past Emmett and walked into the kitchen.

"Bella and Jasper together?" Rose scoffed. "That almost be incest. Yuck."

About a minute later we heard a girl screech and Jasper laughing. It was followed by Jasper running down the hallway gasping for air because he was laughing so hard.

"You moron, what did you do?" Rose scolded him.

"I tried to make her think she was in bed with a guy, and it worked too well. She freaked out, and when she saw that it was me she went to attack. She'll be here in a second."

And true enough, I saw a petite brunette walking down the hallway from where Jasper had just appeared from. She had dark brown hair and ivory skin. Even though she looked tired and obviously emotionally drained she was still beautiful. It was hard to see why someone would cheat on her. Maybe she was a complete bitch I thought. But that couldn't be right. If she was friends with Rose and Jasper she had to be at least a good person.

"Damn you Jasper! You scared the shit out of me! I thought Embry or Quail had decided to be funny and crawl in my bed. Then when I saw a white hand I couldn't remember where I was. You are so lucky that I love you. "She plopped down on a stool at the breakfast bar. The names she said sounded familiar to me.

"Why would you assume it was Embry or Quail? Why wouldn't just assume it was the dog, Jake?" Rose sipped her orange juice.

I watched as Bella rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretch her arms.

"Rose, have you ever been close to Jake before? Touch his hand or anything?" Bella asked.

"Hell no, I stayed as far away from him as possible!" Rose looked like she had drunk sour milk.

"That boy has a natural body temperature of 101. I am not exaggerating, it's even documented in his medical file that he runs hotter than the rest of the human race. Jasper was way to cool, and lanky to be Jacob." She laid her head on the bar.

"Wait, Jacob? You mean Jacob Black?" Emmett asked. I already knew that where he was going with this and thought twice about stopping him. In the end I decided that he should tell her, at least it would save her the pain of finding out later.

"Yeah, you know Jake?" She smiled slightly.

"Yes I know the bastard!" Emmett growled.

"Wait, how do you know him Emmett? You've never mentioned him before!" Rose looked confused.

"I have, but I typically call him JB. That's his name at the court."

"Oh shit! Bella…" Rose stopped. She looked at Emmett and me, then to Bella.

"What? What did he do?" I could see the panic growing in her face.

"Jake works a lot, doesn't he Bells?" Rose was leading her in the question. She didn't want to come out and say what we all knew.

"Yes, he is always at that damn shop. I know he has to work hard and all, but you'd think he could come home before midnight more than twice a week." She crossed her arms. She wasn't going to be lead down the road that Rose wanted her to.

"Bella…"Emmett took a deep breath. "I know Jake from the ball court. We've always thought he was a giant asshole. One of the reasons is because he is always talking about the new piece of ass that he is getting and how his girlfriend doesn't know."

"What?" She looked really surprised. I felt even worse than before. She didn't know that she was dating the man whore of Seattle. I watched as tears started pouring down her cheeks. Jasper walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I am sorry Bella! I never knew it was Jake that they were talking about when Edward and Emmett said JB. I never put it together before." Rose looked defeated.

"It's okay Rose. It's not your fault. I, um, need to shower and all. I'll be back in a little bit." Bella left before another word could be ushered.

"Oh that's some bad karma there man." I told no one in particular. "JB is going to have some serious get bad juju coming his way." I kept eating. They all stared at me like I had grown a third head.

"That's one way of putting it." Jasper shook his head and chuckled. "I wish I had gone to the court with y'all when that prick was there. Maybe this joke of a relationship could have been ended long ago. I knew the stories you told me about JB. If I had seen Jake and put it together…."

"It's no one's fault Jasper. We will go get her stuff and get her far, far from this dog." Alice was starting to clean up what she had cooked. "Let her shower, cry her eyes out and then we will go."

"Oh I hope that the bastard is there when we get there, because my foot will be meeting little JB." Rose smirked and walked back to her room.

We continued to chat in the living room while we waited for Bella to finish getting ready. I was beginning to wonder if she was coming back when she finally walked back in. She was adorable in her yoga pants and simple t-shirt. She had a ponytail, and sported sneakers on her feet. Her eyes were red from obvious crying but no one would think badly about that. At least she was up and moving around. It could be a lot worse.

As I watched her move around the room, and realized how adorable she was. She was just a natural beauty. Her clothes were simple and she wore no makeup that I could see. I couldn't imagine Tanya even going to the gym in such a simple get up. Not that I thought it was horrible of Tanya for being a bit vain; she was a gorgeous woman and took pride in it. Bella was beautiful but chose to keep downplayed. I wondered what JB was thinking when he cheated on her.

"Okay, let's go and get this over with." She sighed and grabbed a handful of boxes.

"Alright, Bella ride with Edward. Emmett and Rose can take the jeep. Jasper and I will take his truck for larger items. Sound good?" Alice smiled.

"Sounds just fine, let's go." Bella's voice was barely above a whisper. We all grabbed boxes and tape before heading out. This was going to be a long day.

**********************************************

BPOV

I was in a car with a man that I had never met before to clean out an apartment that I had shared with a man I loved for two years. I thought that Jacob loved me, and instead I find out that this probably wasn't his first incident. It was just the first one that I had caught him at.

I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a little ball and cry myself back to sleep, but that wasn't an option this morning. Instead I stood in the shower, letting the hot water pour over me, and sobbed until there was nothing left in me.

I had never met Edward before, so I was my normal nervous self. I hated being alone with someone new on my own. I would see him occasionally look my way, but we didn't really talk. He asked about music preference, and I told him that I didn't care. He asked if I was warm enough and I just nodded. I didn't want to be rude, but talking was going to take more energy than was possible at that moment. I had to save my energy for the upcoming fight that I knew was about to happen with Jake.

We never fought. Even though I wasn't happy about his working late so much, I didn't complain. I didn't argue with him when he went out with the boys. I didn't bitch about how much money he spent. I tried my best to keep a happy relationship with him. Maybe that's where I was wrong. Maybe I should have fought for him more. Now I was left with a hole in my heart.

We pulled into a parking spot at the apartment complex and I noticed immediately that Jakes car was there. I prayed that he was out with the boys in their car or if he wasn't that he was at least not with some other female right now. I took a deep breath and opened the door to Edwards Volvo. Rose was quickly by my side.

We gathered our packing supplies and walked up the stairs to the scene of the crime as I began to call it. I used my key to get in. It was quiet and dark, just like yesterday. My heart began to pick up pace. I was going to catch him again, I just knew it. I gave Rose an anxious look then headed to the bedroom I use to share with Jake.

When I opened the door and saw that no one was in there I let out the breath that I had held in.

"Thank God." I heard Emmett mumble. Thank god indeed. I was sure I would have died from embarrassment had Jake been in there with the blond again.

"Okay Bells, tell us what to pack. We will try to be quick so that we can be done before he comes back." Alice winked at me. We had only been friends for a couple hours, but I was already grateful for her. Where Rose was rough and mean, Alice was practical and calm. She was the reason that I didn't call Jake last night and scream at him. Rose encouraged me, but Alice told me it wouldn't solve anything. So instead I went to bed.

"All the books that have nothing to do with cars are mine." I pointed to our bookshelves. "The knick knacks that aren't Indian or Wolf related are mine. I only want to pack the things that actually have some meaning to me, things that can't be replaced. If it's a picture, I only want it if it has me and someone other than Jake in it. I think Emmett and Edward can knock out the living room in thirty minutes. Rose can pack the kitchen; she knows that all the equipment is mine. Jasper, all my school books and things like that are in the guest bedroom. We have it set up as a study. Alice you can help me in my bedroom."

I grabbed a box and trash bags. Alice began pulling my clothes out of my drawers and pushing them into the bags. I pulled my clothes from my closet and placed them in the box. We were just about done when I heard Jacob come home.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" His deep voice bellowed down the hallway. I had never been afraid of him in my life, but that voice gave me a shiver down my spine. Alice gave me a slight smile and I nodded at her. I had to do this, and it wasn't going to be easy.

I walked down the hall and found him in the living room watching Emmett and Edward. He wasn't saying anything. He was just watching them pack my things. His face was red with rage and he was literally shaking. Right behind him, Quail and Embry came walking in. They took in the scene around them.

"You know what is going on Jake." I kept my voice calm and even. I didn't want a confrontation with him. I just wanted my stuff and I wanted out of there.

"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME BELLA!" He screamed at me. "You are going to pack up and leave me? I thought you just needed time to cool down and then we could deal with this like mature adults! Instead you come in here and pack up when I wasn't here?"

"There is nothing to talk about Jake. You made your choice and now I am making mine. I am cooled down and now I am getting my things. You and your little fuck buddy can have the place." I turned my back to walk to the bedroom again.

"DAMN BELLA!" He screamed so loud that Jasper walked in the hallway. This situation seemed to be getting out of hand quickly. I always knew Jake to have a temper but it was never anything that I had been on the receiving end of. "I made one fucking mistake and you are going to leave me over it? What about all the time we have been together? Doesn't that mean a damn thing to you?"

I huffed and turned to face him. Now he pissed me off.

"One mistake Jake? You think that I believe that you made just one mistake?" I put my hands on my hips. Everyone's eyes were on us now. "You think that I am going to believe that this was the only time you brought home some slut to fuck in our bed? How the hell am I supposed to ever trust you again? There is no relationship here anymore. "

I started to tell him what Emmett and Edward had told me but I didn't want to rat them out. I was sure they wouldn't care, but I didn't want to drag anyone else into this discussion. Rose was dying to be set loose in this argument, but she was doing her best to stand back and let me handle it.

"What? You don't believe it was the only time?" He looked around the room. It seemed like that was the first time that he actually took notice to who was packing up the living room. "Oh I see, its Emmett and Edward! What did they say Bella? They tell you some lies to poison you against me? "

"Jake, why would you even think that they would tell me lies about you? What would their reasoning be? They have nothing to gain by making shit up about you." I had to hear this line of reasoning.

"You don't think they could have a reason? Maybe because they hate me and the guys, did you think about that? Is Rose dating one of them? That could explain a hell of a lot there! She has always hated me, so it would favor her if you and I broke up." He pointed to Rose. He unleashed her as far as I was concerned. He deserved whatever he got from her now.

"FUCK YOU! I didn't even know that Emmett knew you until this morning. He had always called you JB. You could have knocked me over with a feather this morning when I found out that the man whore from the ball court was you. I knew you were a dog, but I never thought you were that much of a dog." She growled at him.

"Like you have any damn room to talk Rose, it isn't like you haven't had your fair share of dicks in your life." He growled right back.

"Hey, now you need to back off…" Emmett stepped into the area that Jake and Rose were now occupying. "Yeah, we told Bella about the stories you told us. Those words came out of your mouth. Now your little stories that you thought made you so damn cool have come back to bite you in the ass. Rose had nothing to do with it."

Jake just glared at Emmett. I could see that what he really wanted to do was attack. He always took pride in the stories about his tribe being from wolves. He liked to think of himself as lethal as one. I hated to tell him that I thought that he would not be at the winning end of this fight.

"Bella, can I speak to you alone in our room please?" Jacob said through his gridded teeth.

"I don't think…." Rose started but I interrupted her.

"It will be fine Rose. Alice and I have the room packed up for the most part. Maybe you and she can start taking those items to the car." I wasn't afraid to talk to him on my own. I wasn't staying with him. There was nothing that he could say to keep me here.

"Fine, but if it starts to get loud in there…" Again I interrupted her.

"Jasper is right next door in the study, and there are plenty of people here that could reach the room in two seconds. Jake has never hurt me and I don't think this would be the time to start. Don't worry. I will keep packing as we talk." I smiled slightly at her.

I turned and walked to the room. Jake was right on my heels. He tried to place a hand on my lower back, but I pushed it off. He would never touch me again. As soon as we entered the room, he closed the door behind us.

"Bella, baby, please." He was pleading. "Please don't leave me. I will be better. I won't do it again!"

"Are you kidding me Jake? You have been lying to me all this time, and now all the sudden I am supposed to believe you? I don't think so." I rolled my eyes.

"Damnit Bella, can't you just get over this? It's not the end of the world!"

"What? You have gone nuts, you know that right? When I refuse to just take you back, you try to play down your man whoring ways? Jake, you got to give me better than that! "

"Better? Better than the truth Bella? Do you think I am the first man to step out on his girlfriend? Or that I will be the last? Do you think you are so damn special that I shouldn't have stepped out on you?"

He was going in for the kill. The one thing that Jake did like to do was tell me that I was lucky to have him. He made sure I knew that he was quite the catch and he settled when it came to me.

"Yes, that's exactly what I think Jake. You told me that you loved me. We were in a relationship. Hell we lived together. How would you feel if I decided to sleep around on you?" My voice was losing its calm tone.

"That's totally different. I am a man. I have needs. When you get all wrapped up in yourself, I have to fulfill those needs somewhere else." He folded his arms across his chest.

I couldn't help it, I giggled. That was the stupidest thing he could have said to me.

"Wrapped up in myself? Like when Jake? You mean when I am going to school and work? Or maybe the three weeks I went to Florida to care for Rene before she died of breast cancer? Are you talking about my driving to Forks once a month to stock my dad's house with edible food? "I cocked an eyebrow. I had my flaws but I was not one to be wrapped up in myself.

"Exactly Bella, those are exactly what I am talking about. You should be here taking care of your own home. There is no reason for you to go to school or work. I told you that you could trust me to care for you."

"That's crazy! Why would I do that? So I could end up in this situation but have no way to get out of it? I told you before we got serious that I was going to finish school, and that I would never completely depend on someone else to take care of me. Ever." I had my arms folded in the same fashion that he had his. "And what about me taking care of Rene? Should I have not done that?"

"She was married Bella! She didn't need you to come rescue her! Phil had it. And your dad is capable of caring for himself. He doesn't need you to care for him like an infant!"

The nerve of this man! I can't believe that I was ever in love with him. His mask that he wore for me must have been something thick, because this was the first time I had ever seen this side of him.

"Fuck you Jake!"I started yelling. I had the door open because I had to get away from him quickly. "My mother didn't have a fucking cold! She was dying! Of course I went to take care of her. It didn't matter that she was married. He needed help too. If you had been a good boyfriend you would have been there with me. You would have come to the funeral. But I am sure that you were too busy fucking some slut while I was gone. And as for Charlie, I will care for my dad as I want. There isn't much that I can do for him, but I can make sure he has food to eat. I can't believe you are so damn selfish! When did you become such a prick?"

I could feel the tears pouring down my cheeks. Two strong hands were on my shoulders and I looked up to see Jasper. He had been my rock so many times, and it looked like he was being given that job again. I looked down the hall and could see everyone standing in the living room looking toward me.

"I am not the prick Bella. You are the selfish bitch here. Had you paid more attention to me, then I wouldn't have had to go find women who were willing to do that. Had you been half the girlfriend you should have been then I might have remained faithful!" His arms were waving around in the air. He was serious with everything he said.

"Bella, sweetie, we are done here. Let's get out of here okay? He is not going to stop." Jasper whispered in my ear. I nodded.

"Screw you Jasper. That's my girlfriend, and you aren't taking her away from here." Jake started to charge towards us. Jasper quickly pushed me behind him.

"Jake, you need to calm down. I am not taking her away. She is choosing to leave. Don't make a bigger fool of yourself by acting this way." Jasper was always the one to calm a bad situation down.

Jacob took a deep breath, and then pushed passed us. "Make sure you get all your shit out of here Bella. Leave the key on the counter. I don't want you back in here again."

He walked passed a very pissed off Rose who was being held back by Emmett. Edward looked disgusted and Alice just glared at Jake. I couldn't believe that I wasted two years with that man. As soon as he slammed the front door closed, I collapsed into Jaspers arms sobbing.

He slid to the floor with me and held me while I cried.

"Who the hell was that Jasper? I have never seen him behave that way! What happened to my Jake?" I held onto his shirt tightly.

"I don't know babe, but be happy that you are getting out now and not when he progressed from verbal abuse to physical." He patted my hair down.

"What are you talking about Jasper? What verbal abuse?" I looked up at him.

"Oh Bells, you are in so deep you don't even see it anymore. Come on, let's get out of here. We'll talk about it later. Right now I just want you to make sure you got everything."

I stood up and nodded to him. I tried to dry my eyes the best I could do. I was upset with Jake, but I was also embarrassed that my friends had seen that. Hell, people that didn't even really know me had seen that.

After a quick run through the apartment, I realized we had everything. My life here was over. I threw my key on the counter and went to the door. I gave my old life one last look. I saw that the chicken I pulled out for dinner the previous dinner was still there. I decided that a little bit of pay back was needed.

I pulled the chicken breast from the package and stuck it in the back of one of the cabinets that I knew Jake rarely went into. Once it rotted it would make for a great smell. Rose watched as I did this with a smirk on her face. I shrugged and followed my best friend out the door to start my new life.


	3. Chapter 3

Cheaters-Chapter Three Getting to Know You

BPOV

The week after moving out the apartment went as smooth as anyone could expect. Luckily I was really busy with school and work, so I couldn't really focus on how I felt about the whole Jacob issue. I was of course hurt and heartbroken, but right now I was too busy to think about it.

I found myself driving to our, I mean his apartment out of habit after work. I didn't realize what I was doing the first time until I was parked in the lot. I guess it was just second nature to go there anymore.

The other thing that was second nature to me was answering his phone calls. He knew when I'd be free during the day too. So he would call and I would stupidly answer the phone not thinking. Then I would have to yell at him to quit calling me. He'd either beg forgiveness or tell me I was being a bitch. It just depended on how he was feeling at the moment about me.

He showed up at the library once this week so we could talk alone, but I avoided him like the plague. My friend, Angie, told him to leave or she was calling security. He tried to argue that it was a public building but she told him that he was toeing the line as a damn stalker so she could have the police called on him. . That seemed to scare him a bit, so he left and hasn't returned. She made sure that someone walked me out to my truck each night after my shift. I thought it was a bit much, but it did make me feel better that I didn't have to worry about dealing with him.

When Friday evening rolled around I was more than ready for the week to be over. I didn't work at the library on the weekends, since I needed that time before for Jacob. Now I was planning on using the time to sleep, relax and ultimately catch up on studying. It was working out pretty well to be rid of the dog.

"Bella, are you sure? We don't have to go." Rose was putting on her coat. She, Alice, Jasper and Emmett had tickets to a show downtown. They had planned this evening weeks ago, and I wasn't going to allow them to sit at home with me when they could be having a good time.

"Good away Rose, I will be fine." I was sitting in front of the TV watching _Blackhawk Down_. It had been one of those films I watched several times with Jake, and for whatever reason I had the desire to watch it now.

"Guh, could you pick a more depressing movie Bells?" Emmett scoffed at my viewing choice.

"I LIKE this movie Emmett. I think it's interesting. Plus there are some very fine looking men in this movie." I licked my lips and wagged my eyebrows mimicking him. He laughed.

"Okay, I am now emotionally scarred after that,Bella. I will never be able to do that move again."

"Good, you should get new material anyways. Now take your girlfriend and friends out. You are cramping my style and interrupting my movie!" I pointed to the door.

"Fine, we'll go, but no loud parties, young lady." Jasper playfully shook his finger at me. "No boys either!"

"OH but if you do find boys to bring over let me and Rose know about it in the morning!" Alice clapped and giggled. Jasper gave her a disapproving look. "What? I said boys, not dogs, so she knew I wasn't talking about Jake!"

I choked on my popcorn. God love good friends. Before they could get out the door, someone was knocking on it. They all stopped and looked at me.

"I am not expecting anyone." I shrugged.

Emmett opened the door to find Edward on the other side. He had a six pack of beer in one hand, and cheesecake in the other.

"Where the hell are you guys going?" He looked disappointed.

"We have plans Eddie boy! Remember the show that Tanya didn't want to see?" Emmett chuckled.

"That's tonight?" Edward asked. They all nodded to him. "Well, Damnit! I actually wanted to see that! The only reason I didn't get tickets with you guys was because Tanya didn't want to see it. Now she is out of town on a flight. I thought that I could bug you guys while she was gone."

"Well, the show is sold out dear brother, and we are going. But you can bug Bella. She's watching gory war movies and choking on popcorn." Alice nodded in my direction.

"Would you care Bella? I have cheesecake!" He held it up.

"Edward doesn't do well when left to his own devices. He gets bored easily and tends to look for people to entertain him." Jasper leaned over and whispered loudly to me.

"Hey! I can do things on my own! I just prefer to be with friends!" Edward defended himself.

"Well you can stay here if you get out of their way and let them leave. Also you all suck at the whole, "_Don't be obvious that we hired a babysitter for Bella"_ thing you are doing." I tossed back a handful of popcorn and kept my eyes on the screen. I could see the shock on their faces reflected on the screen in front of me.

"Don't look at me like that you guys. I am not stupid. This was the worst plan in the history of plans. You just stuck around until someone was able to sit with me. I told you I would be fine. Really I am 23 years old." I rolled my eyes. Rose dropped her head with a look of guilt on her face.

"Yeah, we suck. We didn't think you would pick up on it so easily." She smiled at me sheepishly.

"I don't know what you are so damn worried about; I've been fine all week. It's not like I am going to implode if left to my own devices for a couple hours."

"Don't be mad Bella; the girls are just looking out for you. Tanya is really on a flight today, and I really have nothing else to do. So do you care if I hang out for a bit?" Edward gave me a grin and I wanted to smack myself for actually feeling myself giving in.

"Fine, whatever, but we are watching this and you are sharing the cheesecake." I pointed at the TV and then the cake in his hand. I heard a squeal from Alice. It was hard not to roll my eyes. "Now will the rest of you leave already? I can't have a loud party if you are here and not gone."

They laughed and Edward cocked an eyebrow in confusion. I knew he was waiting for an explanation but when no one offered it, he gave up and shrugged.

"As long as I don't have to help clean up after this party, I am good to go. Go away mom and dad." He popped the top of a beer and handed it to me. I gladly took it and continued to watch my movie.

"Alright, then we will be leaving. Good night you two," Jasper chuckled.

Once they were gone, it was quiet in the room for a few moments while we watched the movie. I was caught up in the movie when I heard Edward sigh.

"Am I already boring you Edward?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, I am sorry. I didn't mean to do that. This movie is just so graphic. How can you sit through it so easily?"

"I've had lots of practice. Jake and I use to watch it." I admitted.

"Oh no, we are not doing a Jake and Bella thing! The movie is going off now!" He stood up and turned the DVD player off.

"Ed-ward!"I whined. "It's not a Jake and Bella thing. I just like the movie!"

"Bullshit." He sat down again on the couch he had been occupying. "Tell me about Jake."

"Oh we are not playing therapy are we? I got to tell you, I suck at that game." I groaned.

"No therapy. How about you tell me about yourself? I know a little bit from Alice, but I don't know that much. So give me the Bella Swan cliff notes." He smirked. He did have a sexy smirk.

"Fine, my parents divorced when I was really little, like 2 or 3. Mom and I moved to Phoenix, where she eventually married Phil. I was twelve. Phil is like my other dad, even though we don't get to talk a lot anymore. I moved in with my actual dad at the beginning of freshman year, because mom wanted to travel with Phil. He was a minor league ball player until he tore some muscles in his arm. He now lives in Jacksonville and is a high school baseball coach. That's where he and my mom settled. Anyways, when I moved to Forks I met Jake. His dad and my dad are buddies. Jake and I were friends for years before we finally started dating. Of course Rose and Jasper have been my friends forever too. Mom got sick a couple years ago, and then died a little over a year ago of breast cancer. I am at UW studying English. I want to write, but I might settle for editing. I don't know yet. My dad, Charlie, is the Chief of Police in Forks. He is really quiet and reserved. We get along great, and I really adore him. I go there monthly to visit him and make sure he has edible food in the house. I work at the library and I really love to read. Yeah, that's about it."I rambled out. "How about you Edward, tell me your cliff notes?"

"As you know Alice is my twin. Emmett's the oldest of the bunch." He started. "We lived in Chicago for a long time, but moved to Seattle when I was in junior high. Dad works at Seattle General as the Head of Emergency Medicine. Mom is really into the volunteer and charity world. I am following in dads footsteps. I like to play piano. I've been with my girlfriend for over a year. Those are my cliffs." He laughed.

"I told you a hell of a lot more than you told me." I huffed.

"Yeah, it was meant to be that way." This man didn't know how close he was to getting that cheesecake thrown in his face.

"So tell me about Jake." He tried again.

"No." I wasn't talking about Jake. I had enough talk about Jake from Rose and Alice. I was done talking about him.

"Okay, how about twenty questions about your week then?" he smiled. It was very difficult to tell him no.

Instead I lay down on the couch, threw an arm over my eyes and sighed. "Fine, we'll play. But I get to go first. "

"Fine, you go first. Ask away." He smirked. He knew he won this round.

"What did you do this week?" I asked. It was the best I could come up with.

"I went to work and school." His answer was vague; as I was sure he meant it to be.

"Wait, that's not what I meant." He interrupted me.

"But it is what you asked. Now it's my turn."

I glared at him. I hated being out smarted. "Fine, ask away."

"What contact have you had with Jake this week?" He folded his arms.

Damn he was good. He just forgot to make the question more detailed.

"Let's see…he called me a few times. Like a goof I answered the phone not really thinking about the caller ID. He also came to my work once." Ha! Got him on that one, he didn't ask what happened during said contact. "Now Edward,"

He interrupted me again. "Wait, what happened at your work?"

"OH no, you didn't ask what happened during the contact. You just asked what contact." He returned my earlier glare, I had got him back. "Now let's see…what are you studying in school?"

"I'm a studying to be a doctor. I have am interning at Seattle University Hospital. I also take some music classes when I get a chance."

"Really? What kind of music classes?" That had got my interest; I already knew about the wanting to be a doctor thing but couldn't come up with a better question. I wish I had known about the music earlier, because I would have asked about that. He said that he played piano, but I wouldn't peg him as someone who would _study_ music.

"Nope, it's my turn. What happened with Jake at your work?"

"It wasn't a big deal. He showed up and demanded to speak to me alone." Edward narrowed his eyes. "But I refused, so he followed me around for a bit. When he wouldn't leave my friend threatened to call security. He tried to argue that it was a public building, but she accused him of being a stalker and said she was calling the police, so he left. Now I get an escort from the door to my car each night. It was totally blown out of proportion."

"I don't think it was. You have no idea what he wanted." Edward tried to tell me.

"No, I know what he wanted. He wanted to talk to me and try to get me to forget the whole breakup thing." I rolled my eyes. "Now, you said you study music too. What are you studying?"

"You know most people are interested in my study of medicine, not music." He looked amused.

"Yeah, well I have never been most people. As great as medicine is, having a passion in music is much more interesting. So answer the question." I laughed, he soon followed.

"Right now I can only take the occasional class because of my schedule, but I am taking a composition class right now. I like to write my own pieces."

"So why not major in music?"

"My turn to ask, "he cut me off. "So what are your plans now that prince charming turned into a dud?"

"I would have never classified Jake as prince charming…" I giggled. "But I don't know right now. I guess finish up school, and move on with life. People break up all the time so it's not like this is a first. I will just continue on."

He stopped talking and just stared at me for a moment. I was starting to get uncomfortable under the weight of his stare.

"What, what did I say?" I asked.

"It's nothing bad, I am just impressed." He shrugged.

"Impressed? What is there to be impressed about?" He really was good at confusing me.

"Well, most people would be mourning the loss of a relationship that had lasted as long as yours. You seem to have taken the whole breakup and everything he did pretty well."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm upset." I sighed. "I'm not above crying myself to sleep and all that fun girl shit, but what else am I supposed to do? The world isn't going to just stop because I have a broken heart. I might as well get use to it now and continue on with my normal life. Maybe someday I'll meet someone that I connect with."

EPOV

I really was impressed. I remember when Alice had broken up with Alec in eleventh grade and how she had cried for weeks. They only dated for a few months, so I can't imagine how she would have reacted if they had lived together and he had cheated on her. Alice probably would have cried herself into dehydration. Lord help us all if anything ever happens between her and Jasper.

I was about to relay this information to Bella when her phone started vibrating across the coffee table. She let out a frustrated groan.

"I swear to God if Jacob…"She mumbled. She looked down at the caller ID, hesitated at answering it for a moment, but she hit the connect button.

"Hey Char…Dad. How are you doing?" There was a pained expression on her face. I could only assume she hadn't told her dad the story about Jacob yet. I was about to excuse myself and give her privacy when she started trying to explain herself.

"But Dad, that's not what happen! I cannot believe that Jake would tell his father I was sleeping around on him! I was not!" She sat up and squeezed her eyes shut. It looked like she was trying to hold back tears.

"Dad, you don't understand, Jake is lying. He was a bastard. He was the one…" He obviously interrupted her.

"But I don't want to talk to him anymore dad. We are over. I don't care if he calls you daily for the rest of his life saying how heartbroken he is…."

I decided right there I had to put an end to this misunderstanding. I motioned for her to sit next to me on the couch I was on. She looked confused, but did it anyways.

"Please Dad; you know I am not like that. I can't believe you believe him over me!" The tears were starting to pour down her face. Not only had this asshole broke her heart, but he was determined to come in between her and her only living parent. I took the phone from her before she could argue.

"Excuse me, Mr. Swan?" I asked.

"Chief Swan. Who the hell is this?" His voice was angry and gruff.

"Sir, my name is Edward Cullen. Bella shares an apartment with Rose and my sister Alice."

"So, are you the one that broke Jake and Bells apart? Because I tell you one day she will realize her mistake and go back…" I cut off his rant.

"Sir, no disrespect to you, but you haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about." Bella's jaw dropped. Apparently people didn't speak to the good Chief like I was. "I was not the one that broke them apart. Bella and I are just friends. Jasper, Rose, Alice, my brother Emmett, and I helped Bella move out of the apartment that she shared with Jacob. He showed up in the middle of it, and said things to your daughter that I am sure would make you want to put your gun to his head."

"You don't say? So tell me Edward, what exactly did Jake say to my daughter that was horrible?" He sounded amused. He really did buy Jacobs story about Bella and why they broke up.

"Well Chief, before I tell you about that, let me tell you about how I know Jacob Black. We play basketball together once a week. I didn't know your daughter before last weekend, but I was very familiar with Jacob." I looked over at Bella to see that she was staring at her hands. She kept turning them over and over again. The whole episode had to humiliating to her. "See sir, Jacob has always gone by JB at the court. He shows up with his little buddies and likes to do a lot of trash talk about his girlfriend. He tells us all stories about how he is finds new pieces of ass, as he likes to put it, and gets it passed his girlfriend. I have always felt damn sorry for the girl that was living with him.

"Alice, my sister, called me last weekend and asked for my help to get Bella's stuff because apparently your daughter walked in on Jake and some chick in bed together. As I said earlier, while we were getting her things together, Jake came home. He said horrible things to her. He told her that it was her fault that he was sleeping around. Her crimes were such things as taking care of her dying month for three weeks, or visiting you monthly to stock your fridge. He told her that she treats you like an infant and should just let you deal with your own stuff. He all but called her a bitch in front of all of us, and when she refused to stay with him he stormed out telling her he didn't want her back in his apartment. So you see _sir_, Jake is lying to you. Your daughter did nothing wrong. I would be happy if I was you that she got out of this relationship because I could fast see it becoming physically harmful to her. "I stopped my rant. I was pissed that he would believe the dog over his own daughter.

I waited for his response, but all was quiet on the other side. Finally he coughed like he was clearing his throat.

"Thank you son for telling me that, may I please speak with Bella now?" I thought I heard his voice crack. I handed the phone back to Bella and she mouthed '_thank you'_ to me. She pointed from herself to her room, and I nodded my understanding. She wanted to talk to her father privately.

She disappeared down the hall and I heard the door close gently. I was left by myself after all.

I considered watching some TV, but decided instead to clean up some. While I was, there was a light knock at the door. I prepared myself to have to deal with Jake. I threw open the door ready to start yelling but instead found myself smiling.

"Tanya…" My girlfriend of a year and half was standing in front of me.

"Hey baby. I got back early! I figured you were over here so I came straight from the airport. Are you surprised?" Her smile lit up her face.

"Of course I am surprised and thrilled! Come in. I was just keeping Bella, the friend I told you about, company while Rose and Alice were out. She's talking to her dad on the phone." I kissed Tanya on her lips and smiled against them. "I am so glad to see you."

"Mmm….," was her response.

I heard Bella's door open again and a moment later she was standing in the living room. I turned from Tanya to Bella to introduce the two.

"Hey Bella, this is Tanya, my girlfriend. Tanya this is Bella."

Tanya held out her hand to shake Bella's but Bella just stood there like she was in shock.

"Hello Bella? Are you there?" I waved my hand in her face.

"Oh, um, yeah. Sorry." The color didn't return to her face. She took Tanya's hand. "Nice to _meet_ you."

I could see that something was wrong but couldn't put my finger on it. Before I could ask, Bella spoke up again.

"Well, I am sure you two would like some time together. I, um, have homework, and am tired so I will let you go." She kept rubbing her hands on the sides of her thighs like her palms were sweating.

Did the conversation with her dad go that bad? Why was she suddenly nervous and upset?

"Are you okay?" Tanya asked. That just proved to me I wasn't imagining Bella's strange behavior now.

"Oh, yeah, just fine." Bella chewed on her bottom lip. "I just need to sleep."

"Okay, well, we will go." I looked at Tanya. She shrugged. She was as puzzled as I was. "We will be back tomorrow. Alice is having brunch for us all at 11am."

Bella was already heading back down the hall to her bedroom. Something was definitely up. Maybe I made her mad with what I said to her father?

"See you in the morning then. Bye." She shut her bedroom door.

"That was certainly strange and rude." Tanya chuckled. "She seems right up Roses alley."

"Go easy on her Tanya; she's had a rough week. She was just on the phone with her dad about it all. Maybe it didn't go well." I grabbed my keys and closed the apartment door behind me.

"So what happen? You didn't get to tell me the whole story." She stood by waiting for me to lock up.

"Oh, it's a long story. I don't want to talk about it right now. I'd rather go back to my place and celebrate the fact that my gorgeous flight attendant girlfriend is back." I playfully growled at her. She giggled and we left.

**BPOV **

Oh. MY. God. He was dating the whore that I caught with Jake! What the hell do I do? Do I tell him? Yes, I had to tell him? But would he believe me? Oh shit, this was too much. Maybe I could tell Alice?

I flopped on my bed and pressed the palms of my hands to my face. This was not going to be pretty at all. I felt myself panicking and had to calm down. I didn't want to be the one to tell him, but I also didn't want to not let him know. What if this wasn't the first and only time for her? Could she and Jake have a regular thing?

I heard Rose and Alice come home later on, and I pretended to be asleep. I had to come up with a way to tell him this, and I needed to be alone for right now. I owed him so much and I wasn't going to be a shitty person now.

He really calmed my dad down. After Edward talked to Charlie I was able to get him to listen to me. Once I told him the real story, he apologized for yelling at me earlier. He said the he had just left Billy's house when he called and was still worked up after talking to Jake. Apparently my ex doesn't have an issue lying to his own father or mine.

Now I was stuck being the one to tell Edward that Ms. Beauty Queen out there was just as much as a whore as Jake.

There was nothing I could do about it tonight. I decided the best thing I could do was sleep. I rolled over on my side and proved that what I said to Edward earlier was true. I wasn't above crying myself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - So there have been so many ppl putting this story on alert that I decided to go ahead and update again. I have to work on Leave it in Montana some, but if I get some review on this one again, I might have to stop and work on this again. :) Really, I'd like to know what you guys think, the good and bad. Please.....**

BPOV

I rolled over in my bed to see the morning sun coming through the windows. I pulled my blanket over my head trying to push myself back into sleep. After twenty minutes of trying I finally gave in and accepted that I would not be visiting my dreamland anytime soon. I looked at my alarm clock to see that it was already 10:45am. Shit, Edward and his little whore would be here shortly. I still had to find a way to tell him.

I laid still for a little while longer, before I realized that I could hear voices in the front room. Maybe everyone got here early? I got up and pulled a pair of cotton sleep pants on. After a quick stop in my bathroom to brush my teeth and hair, I quietly headed down the hall. I stopped in my tracks when I heard Edward mention my name.

"Hey Alice, do you know what was wrong with Bella last night?" It sounded like they were in the kitchen.

"There was nothing wrong with her when we left, and she was already asleep when we got home. Did you do something to upset her?" Alice's voice had a hint of annoyance in it. She was blaming Edward for my sour mood.

"No I didn't, not that I know of at least. She went in her room to talk to her dad on the phone, and when she came out Tanya was here. I introduced the two. The whole time she acted like she was nervous and upset. She told us she was going to bed and to let ourselves out. It was just weird."

"Yeah, she was really weird and rude. It was strange." Oh joy, Tanya was already here.

"Don't talk about my friend like that. If she was rude, then Bella had a reason." Rose, my savior, was already there. This should be an interesting conversation to spy on.

"Sorry Rose, but you weren't here. She was really rude. I didn't do anything to her." Tanya sound defensive. Didn't do anything to me? That was a damn joke.

"Whatever, back off or you will be eating your eggs via tube Tanya. No one messes with my friend."

"Fine, whatever Rose, defend her." I rolled my eyes. Of course Rose was defending me, she's my best friend. "Edward, I have to take my car into the shop today. JB needs to finish some work he was doing last week."

"No. I don't want you taking your car to JB, Tanya." Edwards's voice was filled with anger. "You know how I feel about him."

"I don't know why you are so pissed about his stories. So what? He is still a good mechanic." I could hear the anger building in Tanya's voice.

"You don't understand Tanya…" She cut Edward off.

"No, you don't understand. I don't care about his private life. Not even a little bit. So what if he cheats on his little girlfriend. She probably deserves it for all we know. He is a good mechanic, and seems to be a good enough guy." I took this opportunity to walk out into the room. Everyone stared at me, obviously horrified that I heard Tanya. She just raised an eyebrow at me. Her hands were already on her hips from her little rant.

I walked right passed her and to the cabinet to get a glass. Everyone was still quiet and staring at me. I could see that this totally confused Tanya, so I decided to put her out of her misery.

"What are you staring at me for?" I poured myself some orange juice. "Maybe she is right. Maybe it's my fault that Jacob, excuse me I mean JB, slept with everyone worthless whore in Seattle. Apparently I wasn't enough." I kept my eyes on her. Tanya's jaw dropped.

"You are JB's girlfriend?" She choked out her words.

"Correction, his ex-girlfriend. I walked in on him doing the deed with someone about two weeks ago. I broke up with him and moved in here." I continued to sip my drink.

"Bella, it's not your fault…" Jasper started to speak but I put my hand up to stop him.

"It's fine Jasper. It's nothing I haven't already told myself. Now if you will excuse me, I have to take a shower. Nice to see you again, Tanya." I continued out of the room quickly, because I had tears starting to go down my face. I couldn't let her see my cry.

I shut and locked my door. Then I walked into my connecting bathroom that I shared with Alice and turned on the shower. I let the water pour over my body while I sobbed. I cried about Jacob and him cheating on me. I cried about Tanya and saying exactly what was going through my mind. I hated them both at that moment.

But no matter how much I hated Tanya, I couldn't just walk out there and tell Edward that it was Tanya that was with Jacob. I wouldn't just throw that out there like that. I didn't want him to hurt the way I was. She now knew that I was aware that it was her in bed with Jake. Well, if she didn't realize it then she was a complete moron.

I got out of the shower, dried my hair and pulled out some clothes. It was going to be a pity day, so I dressed the part. I pulled out jeans, shirt and hoodie. After pulling my hair in a messy bun, I rubbed some lotion on my face and tossed on my sneakers. I grabbed some cash, my I-Pod, and cell phone.

I could hear the loud talking as I walked down the hall. As soon as I entered, it all died down. Great, they were talking about me again. Whatever, I was out of here. Alice gave me a sympathetic smile. I looked to the left and got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I guess our bathroom had better lighting or something. I looked like crap. My eyes were still red and swollen. I sighed and turned away.

As I headed to the door, Jasper stopped me.

"Bells, don't you want to eat?" He was worried. I wish he wouldn't worry, but I could hear it in his voice.

"No." I grabbed my keys and started to walk out the door, but this time I was stopped by Rose.

"Where are you going Bella?" Her voice held less worry. I knew my best friend. She was worried, but knew that I didn't want to be pitied or fussed over.

"To jump off a tall building or play in traffic." I snapped back.

"Okay, well call me if you need anything." She said quietly.

"I got this. No help required. Talk to you later." I walked out the door and let it slam behind me.

**EPOV **

Bella had walked to her bedroom fighting back tears. I turned to Tanya and couldn't help but glare at her.

"How could you say such things?" I snapped at her.

"Bitch you better sleep with one eye open…" Rose was advancing on Tanya.

"WAIT!" Tanya yelled. "I didn't know it was HER. I didn't know!" She was right, she didn't know. I couldn't believe she thought that ANYONE would deserve what Jacob did to Bella. I was disappointed that she thought that anything would excuse that type of behavior in anyone.

"Okay, fine, you didn't know it was her. But how could you feel that way anyways? What the hell could anyone do to deserve the crap that Jacob has done to her?" I asked.

"Look, when he was fixing my car we talked and I think his side is understandable." Tanya shrugged.

"What in the HELL do you mean?" Jasper joined in. "What is dear Jacobs's side?"

"He just told me that she's gone a lot and he is lonely. She doesn't show him enough attention. He tried to talk to her about it and she just brushed him off. He doesn't want her to worry about working, but she insisted that she doesn't want him caring for her. It kind of made him feel like an ass. Killed some of his manhood I guess." She really believed the crap she was spewing.

"Are you KIDDING me?" Rose was livid. "Listen Airplane Barbie, you have no clue what you are talking about. Bella bent over backwards for Jake. She gave up her whole life to make him happy. He moved her to an area of town where HIS friends lived, but that she didn't know. He bitched if she worked more than 30 hours a week, and not because he was lonely, but because it meant she had a life outside of HIM. She's in school because she wants to make something of herself. Not all of us can be happy pointing out emergency exits for the rest of our lives!"

"WHAT? Don't fucking down play my job Rose! It's not all shits and giggles! I do a lot more than point to emergency exits and serve drinks so kiss off!" Tanya shrieked.

"Okay, ladies we are getting out of hand here." Emmett stepped between them. Brave man, I wasn't going to do it. Let them tear each other up, I wasn't risking getting bitten or something similar for getting in the middle of that cat fight.

"Emmett's right." Alice stepped up. "Tanya, I understand that you and Jacob have been friends or whatever, but you really don't have any clue about this. Bella didn't do anything to deserve this. I just met her and I can tell you she isn't a snide bitch. Jake was trying to control her. That was what his requests were leading to. He wanted her to stay home, have no friends or job. He wanted her there to be at his beck and call. Yet, he went out and found friends to play with. Hell, he even brought one whore home."

Tanya crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine, I don't know what is going on then. I don't want to spend my day arguing about this."

"Fine, let's drop it." I told her. "It's not our issue to argue anyways."

We all ate in virtual silence. I had always known that Rose wasn't Tanya's biggest fan, but she was decent to her because she was my girlfriend. Tanya always came over here with me for things like this. But I began to think it might not be the best idea anymore after what just happen. I didn't want to stop visiting with my siblings and friends, but I couldn't see how Tanya would be invited to things if she made Bella uncomfortable.

"You know, just one more thing." Tanya looked up at us all. Here we go; she's going to start the damn fight back."You don't know that the chick is a whore."

"Huh? Whore? What are you talking about?" Alice asked, obviously confused.

"You said that Bella caught Jake in bed with a whore. You don't know that she was a whore. You don't know the girl. Maybe she didn't know that there was a girlfriend. Or maybe she thought that he was breaking up with his girlfriend. There are a million possibilities."

Alice looked absolutely shocked. I don't think I had ever seen my twin speechless, but there was always a first time.

"What are you talking about Tanya? That apartment had photos of the tow of them all over it. There were her clothes, and other things that pointed to the fact that a chick lived there too. And if the whore thought that he was breaking things off, then she should have forced him to prove that it was over. No, she just wanted to fuck and that's what she did. Except that she got a shoe to the head in the process." Rose laughed.

"What are you talking about?" I hadn't heard this part.

"Jacob and the whore didn't realize that Bella was there at first. She took off her shoe and threw it at the whores head. She hit the whore so hard that she fell forward on Jacob. Priceless." Rose was chuckling.

"Physical violence is never the answer Rose. " Tanya scolded.

"Screw you Tanya, that's the perfect time for violence. She's luckily it was Bella and not me to find her. She'd still be picking her teeth out of the carpet had it been me, and he'd be short two balls."

I had no doubt that Rose was not kidding. This was definitely her way. I was going to say something about how Rose threatened to kill Jessica last year, but I stopped when I saw Bella walk in the room. She looked miserable. She was dressed like she didn't give a damn, and her hair was just pulled into a mess on her head. Her eyes were red and swollen. I really wanted to walk over and give her a hug, but resisted because of how she reacted to me last night. What Tanya said really upset her.

"Bells, don't you want to eat?" Jasper asked her. She hadn't eaten anything this morning, so it was probably the best thing for her to do right then.

"No." Her voice was cold and hollow. I watched as she grabbed her keys and headed to the door.

"Where are you going Bella?" Rose's voice was light, but I could see she was worried.

"To jump off a tall building or play in traffic." She snapped.

"Okay, well call me if you need anything." Rose said quietly.

"I got this. No help required. Talk to you later." Bella said before she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Shit, she was doing so well." Jasper shook his head.

"I know." Rose swallowed hard. "I hope she doesn't end up depressed again like she did before."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Just when Renee died, Bella got really depressed. It took us days to get her to really eat anything. I was actually thankful for the dog at that time. He didn't come to the funeral, said he was busy, but he did meet us at the airport when we got back. He scooped her up and took her home. He said that he would handle it, and he did. Occasionally he came in handy." Rose scoffed. Tanya huffed.

"What is your problem?" I asked. Why did she care if Rose bad mouthed Jake?

"I am tired of hearing her talk trash about someone she obviously doesn't know." Tanya snapped at me.

"Screw you Tanya. I've know Jake a hell of a long time. I knew him back in high school. We actually use to be friends."

I decided to take Tanya and leave before she did anymore damage. But she surprised me by saying she had to leave.

"Look, I have some errands to do today Edward. I need to get them done before I take the car in. I will see you tonight okay?" She smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a forced smile.

"Alright baby, do you want me to come with you?" She looked a little taken back.

"Um, no that's okay. It's just stupid errands. I'll get it done, and then go get ready for tonight okay?" Again the forced smile was given to me.

I nodded and gave her a chaste kiss. I felt like something was going on, but if Tanya didn't want me to know what was wrong, I would just have to trust that she'd be okay. She said her goodbyes to everyone else, making sure to skip Rose, and left.

"You chick is acting strange Edward." Emmett said as he plopped on the couch next to me.

"I know. Maybe this morning just got to her or something." I shrugged.

"She still is going to take the car to JB?" He looked at me.

I hadn't got that question answered by her earlier. I completely forgot about it after all the fighting broke out. Then Bella left looking like she had her heart ripped out.

"I don't know…"

"I wouldn't feel comfortable with that if I were you."

"What are you talking about? Why would I care? Do you think he will rip her off because of what has happened lately?" I was now a little concerned about that.

"Maybe, but I was thinking more of him trying to put the moves on her." Emmett shrugged.

"Tanya's a big girl, she can handle herself. I'm not worried. She'd tell him to back off, and then never go back. I trust her."

"Alright then. You want to play some Mario Kart?" Emmett was already pulling out the Wii.

"Sure why not?"

******************************************************

Emmett and I played Mario Kart with Jasper for an hour before I finally had enough. They decided to play some other game, while I went to get a drink. Rose and Alice were sitting at the breakfast bar, heads close together, talking low.

"What's going on in here? Are you planning on taking over the world or anything?" I joked. Rose scoffed and rolled her eyes. She was still obviously pissed about this morning. "Look Rose, I am sorry about Tanya. I was really disgusted with what she said. As soon as I get a chance I will apologize to Bella about it."

"The apology really won't do a damn thing. She'll accept it but it won't change how she is feeling. Once words are out, they are like toothpaste, you can't put them back." Rose drank her coffee.

"What can I do then? I feel horrible, but I don't know how to fix this." I sat next to her.

"There really isn't anything you can do brother." Alice told me. "Bella is hurting, and there isn't anything any of us can do. We will just have to be supportive and all. It would be best if Tanya wasn't here all that much…"

"I know. I already thought about that. I don't want to pull away from you guys, but I don't see how having Tanya around Bella could be a good idea." I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Look, neither of you have any idea what I am going to have to do to put Bella back together again. Tanya is just the icing on the cake as far as I am concerned. She's dealt with Renee's death, Phil's aloofness, Jacob's crap and now this. It's one thing for her to think those things that Tanya said, but now Tanya has just gave all Bella's insecurities credit. She is going to think that the breakup with Jake really is her fault, that she did something wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if she was with him right now apologizing for being a bad girlfriend."

That threw me for a totally loop. How could she possibly believe those things that Tanya said? How could she put any stock into what Tanya said? Bella was a beautiful, hard working, proud woman. She should be happy to be away from trash like Jake.

"Rose, what can I do to help?" Alice asked.

"I don't know right now. Bella has never felt very sure of herself, and I am sure that what little self esteem she had is gone now. I am just going to try to work at building it back up."

"Maybe we could set her up on a blind date?" Alice smirked. Evil pixie was always looking to match people up.

"No,no, no, no. That you would be a very bad idea! We have to give her time to get over Jake. As much of an ass as he is, she still loves him. He was her best friend before they started dating. She hasn't just lost a boyfriend, she's lost a friend. She needs time to grieve the loss"

"I agree with Rose." Jasper sat next to Alice. "Bella has been like a sister to me forever, and I think that trying to force her back into the dating world would be a bad idea. Let her get over Jake first, and then see what she wants to do."

"Fine," Alice pouted. "I just want to make her happy again."

Jasper kissed Alice on the cheek. "I know darling, but this isn't going to be something we can rush. She will be happy again eventually. I think we all need to work on making sure she doesn't think those things that Tanya said this morning are true. She's has to know this isn't her fault."

"Hey Rosie, earlier she said something about jumping off a building or playing in traffic, doesn't that worry you a bit?" Emmett came into the kitchen.

"No, she wouldn't hurt herself. One thing I know about her is that she is very selfless. Hurting herself would ultimately hurt Charlie, Phil, me and Jasper. She'd never do anything that would cause us pain. I think she is probably just bus hopping today." Rose smiled at Emmett.

"Bus hopping?" I asked.

"Basically she's getting on a bus that will take her on a long ride. She might hop a couple different buses to depending on the length of each ride. Then she'll eventually make her way back here. She's done it a few times." Jasper explained.

"But why?" Alice asked the million dollar question.

"Because she can just ride, and think. My guess is she has her IPOD, so she'll listen to it and try to figure everything out. She likes to people watch too, so she'll do a lot of that. She has come up with some great short stories by doing this. She even talks to people about their day. She rode the bus with some homeless guy for nearly eight hours just because it was the one place that was warm in the city that he could afford to be in," Jasper laughed. "Don't worry Alice, she'll be fine. She just needs some time alone."

"Well I got to go so I can get ready for tonight, it's already 4pm." I stood up.

"Crap, yeah lets plan on meeting back here at 8pm okay?" Alice was already out of her chair and heading to her room. It would take a lifetime for her to get ready I am sure.

"Is Bella going with us tonight?" I hesitated to ask. It would be an uncomfortable night if she and Tanya both had to be there.

"I doubt it. She probably just wants to be left alone, and I am going to respect that." Rose stood up and stretched. "See you bastards later."

*******************************************

We all went out sans Bella. She wasn't home when we all gathered at 8pm. I was worried that she still wasn't home, but Jasper said he had talked to her earlier. He had called to check on her, and she was out bus hopping. He didn't say much more. Apparently she didn't want to talk, so he let her get off the phone without saying much more.

I volunteered to drive Alice, Rose back to their apartment after the last club. Jasper and Emmett were worn out after the girls had dragged them out two nights in a row, not to mention they had gotten up early in the morning to run 5 miles.

Tanya said she really didn't care because she hadn't planned on me staying the night anyways. She had a flight that left out early, and she wanted to get to bed. I dropped her off first. I told Rose and Alice to give me a minute so I could walk Tanya to her door.

"Thanks for not mentioning the whole Jacob and Bella thing tonight baby. I think everyone had a good time." I kissed her.

"Not a problem Edward." She huffed. "God forbid I have my own opinion."

"Tanya, you know I don't mean it that way. I just didn't want to deal with a pissed off Rose all night. I really do appreciate it." I kissed her neck.

"Fine, if that's the reason, then you are welcome." She moaned a little from the kisses I was giving her neck and collarbone. "Now get out of here. I have an early flight, and you are too damn tempting for me."

I chuckled a bit. "Okay, I will leave. Call me when you get home tomorrow."

"Oh it won't be tomorrow. It will be the day after. It's a cross country, so going and getting back, I won't be back until the day after tomorrow." She quickly told me.

"Fine, then call me when you get back." I gave her a grin and another kiss before opening her door for her. "Go in and lock the door. I'll talk to you later."

"Night," She waved and closed the door. I waited until I heard the lock click, and then headed down to the car with Rose and Alice.

The ride back to their apartment was uneventful. We chatted about different things, but nothing of any important merit. I really wanted to ask Rose if she had spoken to Bella. But I didn't. I kept my mouth shut on the subject and just hoped that they would bring her up.

Once we reach their apartment I put the Volvo in park and started to get out of the car.

"Where are you going?" Rose raised an eyebrow at me.

"I am going to walk my sister and friend to their apartment. If you are lucky I might give you a goodnight kiss." She laughed at my very lame joke.

"Fine, walk us up. It's not like we haven't done this on our own a thousand times before." Rose walked a few steps ahead of me.

"Not with me you haven't. I have never just let you walk to your apartment alone at this time of night." I explained myself further. I didn't want to tell her that part of the reason was to see if Bella had come home yet.

We approached the door, and Rose pulled out her keys. She went to unlock it, but she realized that it was unlocked already.

"Guess Bells is already here." She shrugged and started to head inside.

"Wait, Rose, let me just check it out first." Truthfully Rose was probably just as well equipped to handle an intruder as I was, but I didn't want to have listen Emmett for the rest of my life if Rose got a broken nail while beating the crap out of a cat burglar.

I entered the apartment quietly. Everything was dark, and nothing seemed to be gone through. Alice and Rose were right behind me. I was going to tell them to wait outside, but that's when I heard it. There was a whimpering coming from the living room.

Rose rushed passed me, not worrying about anything other than why there was whimpering. She turned on the light, and there was Bella curled up with her knees to her chest on the couch crying in her sleep.

"I'm sorry…" she whimpered.

"Oh Bells." Rose sighed. She immediately flipped open her cell phone open and called someone. "Hey, I know it's late, but I need you. Bella is here and it looks like she has had a hell of night. She's crying in her sleep."

She paused to listen to the other person. I was wondering if she called Jacob. I was praying that she didn't. Meanwhile, I kneeled on the floor in front of where Bella was sleeping. She had tracks on her cheeks from the tears, and her eyes were swollen. She evidently had been here for awhile crying.

"Okay, I'll see you in ten." Rose snapped her phone shut. "Edward, can you carry her to her room for me. Jasper will be here in ten minutes to take care of her, but I want to go ahead and get her in bed. Thankfully she's already in her pajamas so we don't have to deal with changing her."

"Why is Jasper coming?" I asked. Alice didn't seem surprised or concerned.

"She'll need someone with her all night, and Jasper is best at that. He is her big brother, just in the same way you are Alice's brother. He can calm her better than others. I'll lie in there too, but it will be helpful to have him there." She turned and headed to her room. "I am going to change. Just lay her in her bed; I'll be there in a minute."

I pulled her into my arms and cradled her to my chest. Alice walked in front of me to Bella's room. She cleared the bed so that I could lay her down, then Alice slipped out of the room. I didn't feel right leaving her there crying in her sleep, so I sat next to her. I smoothed the hair out of her face and tried to calm her.

"It's okay Bella. It will all be okay." I whispered in her ear. She sniffled some and cuddled into her bed.

"I'm so sorry Edward." She whispered. I checked to see if she had woken up but she was still asleep. I didn't know how this whole sleep talking thing worked, so I didn't want to say anything. Maybe she was just responding to my voice. But she continued.

"I don't want to hurt you too." The tears started up again. I didn't know what to say, so I just said the first thing that came to mind.

"You won't hurt me Bella. Don't be sorry." I kissed her forehead and rubbed her cheek some to try to calm her again. I heard someone enter the room behind me. I looked up to see Rose in her sleep shorts and tank top.

"She's talking again. She told me she was sorry and that she doesn't want to hurt me too. I have no clue what she is talking about Rose." I probably sounded a little desperate.

"I don't know Edward. When she talks in her sleep it's because something is really overwhelming her in daily life and she is stressed about it. I don't know what she is talking about right now. Usually her nighttime ramblings have merit to them, so you will have to ask her." She crawled on the other side of the bed and lay next to Bella.

We sat in silence waiting for Bella to say something else, but she didn't. She just whimpered and cried. I heard a cough, and saw Jasper standing in the door way. He was in his sweatpants and wife beater. Alice was standing next to him, also dressed for bed.

"Okay Edward, I got this. Thanks." He walked passed me and crawled in the bed next to Bella. He pulled her to his chest and started to softly tell her "Shhhh" over and over again. Alice crawled next to him and put and hand on Bella's back. Luck that she had a queen size bed; it was going to be crowded in that bed. After twenty minutes, she stopped crying and seemed to be sleeping soundly. Rose spooned her and pulled her into her tightly. Jasper had let go of her, laid on his back and pulled Alice up to his chest, but continued to hold Bella's hand. Alice was curled into Jasper with and arm reached across placed on Bella's cheek. I watched for a few minutes, but eventually decided to go sleep on the couch. It was late and I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to drive home.

As I fell asleep, I couldn't quit wondering why she was apologizing to me. How would she hurt me too?

"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- Yes, I know everyone wants Tanya to be ratted out and our little Bedward together. Good things happen with time. Soooo much to do before we get to that point....if we get to that point. So let the reviews roll in, they do motivate me. I promise to send out teasers to the first 15 reviewers! :) Bribery is fun. It works on my kids.......**

Cheaters- Chapter Five

Sunday

**BPOV**

I woke up Sunday with arms and legs tangled all around me. At first I wondered if I had got drunk the night before and ended up in some strange orgy party, but then I remembered the events of Saturday. I would have preferred the orgy party.

_I left the house Saturday morning and decided to bus hop for a couple hours. It was the best way for me to clear my head and relax. I didn't have to actively think about anything or anyone. I could just mull over thoughts as they entered my mind. _

_Of course the majority of my thoughts were on the whole Jacob/Tanya/Edward fiasco that I was facing. I didn't know how to tell Edward. Part of me just wanted to tell him out right, but I realized that it was kind of cruel to do so. This wasn't like pulling off a band aid. I tried to think of ways for Jacob and Tanya to get caught together, but I came up clueless. The best I could come up with was installing a camera in his bedroom, and I was pretty sure that would be illegal. _

_My second problem with telling Edward was whether or not he would even believe me. Why would he believe me over his girlfriend? I couldn't imagine what he could think that I would have to gain from lying, but maybe he could come up with something. Maybe he would think that I was like Jessica, and just trying to land him as my new man. If he thought that I was lying, then maybe the others would too. Then where would I be? I'd be homeless, and more importantly, friendless. _

_I needed to led Tanya into making a mistake. She needed to be the one to tell Edward, not me. But would he be mad that I knew and didn't tell him? Could he understand that the reason that I didn't tell him is that I couldn't hurt him or risk him not believing me? It was all so confusing to me. _

_I jumped off the bus occasionally for some window shopping, change directions or to get a drink. Finally around 8pm, I decided that it was safe to go home. I knew that they had plans for the night, so I'd be all alone again. That's when I ran into Leah. She was getting a sandwich at the same café I was at. _

_Leah Clearwater and I had never been friends. As a matter of fact, I would say that we hated each other's guts. She was a huge bitch with a hell of a chip on her shoulder. Her boyfriend Sam ditched her a few years ago for her cousin Emily. Little did Emily know, but Sam still made trips to see Leah sometimes. She was good enough to fuck, but not good enough to have a relationship with. Go figure. _

"_So Bella, I hear you and Jake are no more?" She gave a fake pout. _

"_Well, news spreads fast with the gossips whores. Good for you for understanding so many words in a sentence!" I rolled my eyes at her. The last thing I wanted to do was get in a pissing contest with her. _

"_Oh, now Bella is that any way to treat a sister? I mean we both have been dumped by men for other women. We should bond or something." She snickered. _

"_Whatever, I didn't get dumped. I dumped him. As a matter of fact he has been calling me, begging me to come home. How did you handle it when Sam did that to you? Oh wait, he didn't. He just shows up for the occasional fuck and leaves you to sleep alone again." _

"_Screw you. You have always thought you were so much better than the rest of us with your college education and opinions. I know I won't be sad that I don't have to listen to you ramble on about some stupid book that was written before my grandmother was born." She rolled her eyes at me. _

"_Don't fret Leah; I am sure that you can become educated too. I hear Dr. Seuss is all the rage today with the illiterate adults!" I snatched my finished sandwich off the counter and headed to the door. _

"_Stop right there you self righteous bitch! I have something to tell you." She ignored the looks of horror from the other customers in the café and marched right up to me. She stood a good three inches taller than me, but I lifted my chin and refused to allow her to get nose to nose with me. She wasn't going to even think that she intimidated me. _

"_Yah, I got some GREAT news for you Bella. The blond you caught Jake with was only one of MANY that had visited your bed." An evil smile crossed her face. _

_No, no, no. This wasn't happening. Not here, and not with her. She was going to tell me all about his affairs in a restaurant full of people. I could feel a panic attack starting. _

"_There were so many girls in your bed that I bet he can't name them all. Every time you worked late, or visited Charlie, Jake had a friend over. And many times, that friend was me. Thanks for the socks that I borrowed, those wooden floors can be cold when you are running around naked having sex all over the house." She smiled, pushed passed me and left me there facing the people staring at me. _

_I quickly turned and ran out of the café. I ran to the first bus I could find and got on. I didn't care where it took me. I just had to get away from her and away from the thoughts that were bombarding me. He slept with Leah too. Who DIDN'T he sleep with? I was sick to my stomach. _

_I rode home, and climbed the stairs to our apartment. I was freaking exhausted. I sat on the couch for a little while thinking everything over again, and that's when the tears started. Before I knew it, I had lost total control . I sobbed. I cried for Rene. I cried for me and Jake. I cried for Edward and Tanya. I even shed a couple for Leah. She had been so broken by Sam._

That was my last memory before waking up in the sea of arms and legs. I realized that I was facing Jasper and pushed gently on his chest to wake him. He popped an eye open and gave me a half smile.

"Good morning darling, how are you feeling?"

"The real question is how are YOU feeling Jasper. You are in a bed with three women, this is definitely blog worthy. " He chuckled at me.

"Except that two of those three would be considered incest and it would be bad for the blogging world to know I was into those things…"

"So you are saying you are into those things then." I gave him and innocent smile.

"Swan, if was able to move, I'd tickle you until you pissed yourself." He growled at me.

"That wouldn't be hard, I got to go NOW."

"Well, I think you are just going to have to wait. Tell me about yesterday." He wrapped his free arm around me.

I told him about the bus hopping,and knew that Tanya's words had hurt, and my running out proved that.

"I just wanted to be alone Jasper." I whispered.

"I know. But you didn't even give her a chance to explain." He tried to reason.

"She doesn't get to reason…" I stopped talking right there. I almost went into a rant about the whore.

"Why? What is going on?" His suspicion meteor was on now. He knew there was more to tell.

"Nothing Jas, just forget it." I tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Nope, you suck at lying. Now tell me the truth. All if it!" He cut his eyes at me.

"Fine," I took a deep breath. "It was Tanya. It was Tanya that I found in bed with Jake."

Jaspers eyes went so wide that I was waiting for them to popped out.

"I didn't know it until Friday night when she showed up here with him. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just blurt it out. I don't want to hurt him. But I have to tell him. I don't want him mad that I didn't. But what if he doesn't believe me…" I was rambling.

"Stop Bells," he said. "First, I think you did the right thing by keeping your mouth shut. Had you blurted it out right there it would have been mistaken id. If you had said something Saturday, then it could have been you seeking revenge. I see the spot that you are in. Now you just got to get yourself out of it." He made it sound so easy.

"Okay, but how?" I asked.

"You are just going to have to wait until you have private time with Edward, and explain it all to him."

Yeah, that sounded reasonable. But I was still going to be ripping his heart out. I had to get him away from everyone else to tell him. This wasn't a group discussion.

"The sooner the better Bells, Tanya is on a flight today. Why don't you do it today?" He suggested.

"What if he is busy?" Oh please let him be busy.

"He isn't. He is asleep on the couch." I gave Jasper a confused looked. "He stayed last night. You were in pretty bad shape. We all wanted to stay last night and help. He carried you to bed and lay with you until I got here."

"Thank you Jasper. You are my favorite non blood related brother." I winked at him and snuggled into his chest.

"Damn right I am." He puffed out his chest and laughed. "Now, go find Eddie boy and talk to him."

I let out a frustrated groan; I didn't want to crawl out my warm bed. Rose was quite the cuddler. I could have lay there all day between my two best friends. Instead I pulled myself up and crawled out of the bed. Rose moaned and turned over, cuddling with a pillow. Jasper pulled Alice almost completely on top of him and snuggled his face in her hair.

I quietly walked out the door and headed to the living room. There laying on the couch, in all his morning glory, was Edward. His hair was a mess, but he was still just as gorgeous as before. I had to quit thinking these thoughts. I was his friend and that's all I could expect from him. After he found out about Tanya, I was sure he wouldn't want to be my friend anymore anyways. When he found out that I had with held the information from him, he was going to be pissed.

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me all morning?" His voice was rough and sexy.

"Thought about it for a moment, but then decided that I had more important things to do today, like scrub the toilet." I chuckled. He playfully huffed at me.

"Fine, whatever you say. I guess I won't be asking you out for breakfast then. I mean you have so many important…." I cut him off.

"I can be showered, dressed and ready to walk out that door in twenty minutes."

"Okay, I will find some of my clothes that I have left here in Alice's room." He paused. "Boy that sounded disturbing."

I laughed at him. "Yes, it did. But I am glad that you have clothes here. I will meet you in the living room in twenty minutes."

We split up and headed to the different rooms. It was only when we were both standing in the same bathroom did we realize the issue at hand. Alice and I shared a bathroom, and therefore a shower.

"So you joining me, or are we taking turns?" He gave me his lopsided grin and made me blush.

"Something tells me that Tanya wouldn't be very happy about you and I sharing a shower, no matter how innocent it was. I'll go to Rose's room. Hurry the hell up. And don't forget to lock the doors or you might end up with a shower mate that you weren't expecting."

I ran out of the bathroom before he could catch the end of my sentence. When he realized what I said, I heard him yell out, "Who gets in the shower with you that I wouldn't be expecting?"

I just laughed and kept walking to Rose's bathroom. I spent five minutes in the shower scrubbing as fast as possible. I was excited about going to breakfast with Edward. As soon as I was clean to my satisfaction I jumped out of the water and dried off. It was then that I realized my mistake; I forgot to grab my clothes.  
I walked down the hallway to my room, praying that no one would notice me. I went into my room where there were still three sleeping people on my bed. I attempted to get my clothes without waking them, but I heard someone clearing their throat as I bent down to open my bottom drawer.

I stood up to see Alice, Jasper and Rose all awake in my bed staring at me in nothing but my towel. Alice started giggling, loudly.

"Wow Bella, if I knew you wanted us that bad…." I cut Jasper off. I didn't want to here anymore of his thought.

"Shut it mister. I had to take a shower in Rose's shower so Edward could use ours. I didn't think about grabbing clothes. Now if you three will kindly close…." I was interrupted by a whistle. There was Edward standing in the room. He was fully dressed and looking like sex on legs. I immediately started blushing.

"Holy crap, the blush does cover her whole body. Quick Bella, move the towel so we can see if your butt blushes!" Rose screamed.

"Oh fuck you! All of you get out of my room now! I want to get dressed and I don't need any more comments from the peanut gallery. Assholes." I turned my back to them again in an attempt to hide my blush.

"Fine, but you are no fun. Just know that!" Alice giggled as she left the room. Everyone followed her, except for Edward.

"Ummm…you gotta go if you want me to get dressed for pancakes." He smirked and turned back to the bathroom that he had come through. I was pretty sure that next to the whole Jake crap, I just faced the most humiliating moment of my young life.

I quickly dressed and headed to the bathroom to finish getting ready. There was still steam from Edwards shower. I wiped the mirror so I could actually see, but my brain was thinking about how Edward must have looked in the shower. Hell, if he liked his showers hot, then I wonder how he liked his sex. I stopped the thoughts right there. I wasn't ever going to find out about him in the shower or him in bed. I had to stop this weird crush that seemed to be starting. I wasn't 14 and he wasn't single. Although, he could be if I would tell him about Tanya.

I felt bad as soon as I realized what I was thinking. My purpose of telling him wasn't to break them up so that I could have him. My purpose was to tell him so that he could decide what to do. It wasn't fair to him that she was sleeping around. Maybe Jake wasn't the only one that she was seeing. I sighed as I finished up and headed to the living room.

"Hey hot stuff. Where's your towel?" Jasper snickered at me.

"Shut up Jasper or I am calling your mom. I'll tell her you are being sexually inappropriate towards me. You'll be in shit for a least a week." I playfully narrowed my eyes at him.

"Fine, then I will pick on you. Call my mom and tell her about how I am behaving. She'll just tell you it's natural to want to experiment and then inform you of what she did in college." Rose smiled.

I covered my ears. "NO! I don't want to know these things about Mama Hale! That is just wrong!"

Jasper and Rose were both laughing at my reaction. Alice was cooking breakfast for all of us.

"So what do you want Bells? Eggs and bacon?" Alice turned to me. I looked at Edward, desperate for him to explain this to his sister.

"Nothing for us sis, I am taking Bells to the diner down the road for some pancakes." He finished his cup of coffee and put it in the sink. Alice just raised an eyebrow at me, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Don't," was all her said to her. She dropped her eyebrow and turned back to her stove.

"You ready Bella?" He asked me. He was already at the door. I grabbed my jacket and we stepped out into the crisp air.

The walk to the diner was short and quiet. We occasionally made small talk. We talked about the weather, the news, music, just nothing important. When we reached the diner, he held the door open for me and I smiled at him as I walked in. Jacob never held the door for me.

We sat at a booth towards the back and started looking over the menu.

"They have the best chocolate chip pancakes here." He set his menu back on the stand.

"Sounds good to me, I love chocolate chip pancakes." I smiled at him and place my menu with his.

The waitress took our orders and was off to the next table. She was too busy to stand and chat with us. I was thankful for that because I was enjoying my alone time with Edward.

"So," he began, "I wanted to apologize for what Tanya said yesterday."

This whole breakfast started to make sense. He didn't want to hang out with me; he wanted to apologize for his girlfriend. Why would I think that he wanted to spend time with me?

I looked out the window and swallowed hard. The revelation hurt a bit. I didn't ever think he was interested in me as anything other than a friend, but I thought that this was about two friends getting together to chat. I pulled myself together quickly and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry about it. She didn't know it was me. It didn't really bother me." I tried to sound convincing.

"You are a horrible liar. I really wanted to go after you yesterday when you left, but Rose and Jasper insisted that you needed your time to grieve or whatever." He sipped his coffee. He never took his eyes off me.

He wanted to go after me? Why? Why would he care how his girlfriend's words affected me?

"I was fine. I just needed time to myself. It's been a long week." He nodded in understanding.

"I thought you said that you were doing fine? You said that you were moving on."

He was right, I did say that when we played twenty questions. What changed was finding out that he was dating the whore that was with Jake. Now I have the freaking enormous amount of guilt on my shoulders. Not to mention the fear of what happens when I do tell him. I took a deep breath and started to explain everything. I figured it would be best to have this conversation somewhere that he couldn't yell at me.

"I was doing fine, but …" I was interrupted by the waitress.

"Two orders of chocolate chip pancakes!" She practically sang to us. "Do you guys need anything else?"

"A refill on the coffee would be good." Edward pointed to our almost empty cups.

She quickly got the pot, filled us up and checked to make sure that everything was fine. Once she was dismissed, Edward turned his attention back to me.

"Okay, you were fine, but what?" He started to cut into his pancakes.

That's when I realized I was crazy. How could I think that telling him this would be a good idea? Especially here in a crowded diner! I had to cover my tracks quickly.

"I was fine, but…" I had to think fast, and I was not good at that. "Everything just seemed to catch up with me at once, and then hearing what Tanya said, it was too much. I needed to get out and away from everything."

Please let him believe me, I prayed. I knew I couldn't lie worth a damn, but that sounded logical to me.

"Yeah, I guess the shock of it all has worn off. Now you have to heal. Rose told me that you and Jake were best friends before dating." He took another bite of his food.

I could feel the hole in my heart rip open just a bit. We were best friends at one point. I loved Jake for years as a friend. He was my sun. He was the one that I would talk to for hours and hours. There was nothing that could separate us. Now look at us, we couldn't even be in the same room. Tears started to leak out of my eyes without my permission.

Edward reached over and grabbed my hand. "It's okay to cry and hurt Bella. You guys were together for a long time."

"It's not that." I wiped my tears away. "It's that we were so close. Even before we started dating, he was everything. I really have lost my best friend now, and that hurts. Relationships come and go, but the friendship that he and I had was so important to me. I don't know how to go on without that."

"You have friends Bella." Edward reached over and wiped a tear that was on my cheek. "You have Rose, Jasper, Alice and Emmett. And you have me. I will be your friend Bella."

My heart fluttered a bit. I had to hide my reaction. Edward wanted to be my friend. The thought made me happy. But then the realization of what I knew was reminded me that once he found out, he wouldn't want to be my friend.

I decided to keep his friendship for now. If he hated me later, I would deal with that, but for now I needed a friend. I nodded and smiled at him. He smiled back. We had finished our food and he threw a twenty on the table.

"Edward, I can pay…" he waved his hand in the air.

"Yes I know you can. But food taste better when it's prepared by and paid for by someone else." I laughed. He was right, those two things made the food taste much better.

"So Rose tells me you like to bus hop. I want to try it." He offered me his arm and I gladly took it.

"Do you really? No one ever wants to go with me." I wrinkled my nose. My friends officially suck.

"Yes, I really want to go. Now, how do we do it?" He stopped at the first bus stop we came to. The bus pulled up right afterwards.

"Well, first things first, we get on the bus." I jumped on and he followed. I paid for both of us and turned to stick my tongue out at him. He just silently laughed.

I selected two seats towards the back.

"It's best to seat in a place where you aren't noticed that much. It's hard to watch others from the front." He nodded. He looked so serious, like he was learning a new lesson in medicine or something.

"Oh and you are supposed to have fun Edward. Quit looking so serious." He snapped his head towards me and smiled

"Yeah, yeah, I know I am too serious. I get told that all the time. I am no fun." He rolled his eyes.

"Who told you that? I've thought you were fun every time I have been around you."

"Mostly Tanya does. Well, okay, only Tanya. I apparently don't live it up enough. But I have school and I have to take that seriously. So I can't just drop everything to go party sometimes. It seems to annoy her. I try to tell her things will get better once I finish school and all, but that doesn't stop her from complaining now."

What a bitch. She cuts him down because he is trying to better himself, and she cheats on him. It took everything in me not to just tell him what I thought of his girlfriend, but again I decided to be selfish. I wanted this day with him. I wanted to spend time with him and not worry about what I had to tell him.

"Okay, well let's make a deal Doctor Cullen." He smirked at being called Doctor. "Today is about fun and relaxation. There will be no talk of things that can depress us. No talk of love, or mean people. We will enjoy our time on the bus. Got it?"

He thought for a minute. The entire time he smiled and didn't take his eyes off me. I was beginning to feel a little crazy.

"That's a great idea. Let's do this thing." He told me with a nod.

**EPOV **

She really was an amazing girl. I could tell that she was trying to make me feel better,but I should be the one making her feel better. It was my shithead of a girlfriend that said those horrible things yesterday. It was her best friend that treated her like crap and did what he did. I should be the one making her feel better, yet, here she was helping me.

We had a great time on the buses. We watched people and talked about what we thought they were up to. It was hilarious to hear some of the stories she came up about people. Around lunch time, we hopped off the bus at a café that she said had the best sandwiches.

As we approached, there was a homeless man sitting out front. My first instinct was to put myself between him and her, but she surprised me by walking straight up to him and sitting next to him.

"So Mac, how you been buddy?" He smiled at her. He looked like he had just won the lotto when he saw her.

"Good, good. You know, working hard at making people uncomfortable and all." They both laughed. He looked up and noticed me.

"This isn't the jerk…" she cut him off quickly.

"No Mac, this isn't Jake. This is Edward, my friend." I reached my hand out to him. He shook it and smiled at me.

"Any friend of Isabella's is a friend of mine."

"Mac, I told you not to call me that!" She shook her head at him.

"I am old enough to be your father, and you don't get to tell me what to call you. Didn't you learn to respect your elders! Your dad's a police chief, you should know better." He playfully scolded her.

"Sure, sure, respect elders, brush teeth before bed, and balance my checkbook weekly. I know all the important lessons."

"Good then. What are you doing here? You were just here yesterday. I haven't seen that rotten woman again…" Bella dropped her head. Something obviously happened yesterday that she hadn't told me about yet.

"It's fine Mac. Don't worry about Leah, she's all bark and no bite. I was just taking my friend here bus hopping and decided that we needed lunch. What do you want to eat?" She started to stand up.

"Isabella, I don't need you buying me lunch again…"

"Hush. Didn't you know it's rude to refuse when someone offers you a sub from this place? Jeez, you'd think a man of your age would have manners!" She mocked being offended.

"Fine little girl, I'd like the special. But mark my words, if you show up here again tomorrow, I will go sit elsewhere." He shook a finger at her.

"Yep, sure Mac, whatever you say. I'll be right back. Come on Edward." She opened the door and headed in.

We were in line waiting for our turn to order when I decided to ask her about everything.

"So you seem to be pretty chummy with that guy. How long have you known him?"

"Mac? I don't know, for awhile I guess. He'll sit out front of this place most days. Some days, if it's really nice out, he will go to the park. He is a good guy and I like to talk to him." She stepped up to the order window. After she ordered her and Mac's food she looked to me. "Order Edward, and don't give me lip about payment."

I laughed and ordered a sandwich. Who was I to argue with this little spitfire? She seemed to mean business, and I didn't want her twisting my arm the way she did Mac's. I had a feeling that I wouldn't ever be about to refuse any request she had.

After ordering we stood off to the side to wait. I figured this was as good time as ever to ask about the woman that she and Mac were talking about earlier.

"So who is this Leah chick?" I didn't make eye contact. I didn't want to make her nervous. I heard her sigh.

"Leah is someone from the reservation that Jacob grew up on. She use to date Sam, but he left her for her cousin Emily a couple of years ago. He still sleeps with Leah on occasion, and he is still with Emily." She paused for a second to gather her thoughts. Who were these guys, and why did they think that acting this way was okay? "Anyways, I ran into Leah here yesterday. She and I have never been friends. She's always been a bitch, especially after Sam left her. But yesterday she felt the need to inform me that she heard about Jake and I. She also let me know that she's been sleeping with him for months. We had a huge argument here, and I said some not so nice things to her. She responded with some other not so nice things, and I left. That's why I was crying when I got home. I was upset over everything. It just seemed to reopen the wound that was already there."

My heart broke for her. Jake was a dog, and deserved to be put down. Why would he treat his beautiful, both inside and outside, girlfriend this way? He had a woman that adored him, and he threw it away to sleep with a couple whores? What an ass. Before I could respond to her story, they called our number.

Bella retrieved the sandwiches and headed outside to see Mac. There were some young punks giving him a hard time. I could see Bella grow angry and she moved to fast for me to stop her.

"Come on old man, get up. You should get a job or something. Quit begging." One taunted him.

"You stink you know that?" Another one said.

"What's in your bag?" The third one snatched Mac's backpack from him and started to go through it. Mac tried to protest, but the other two kept him from getting to the guy with the bag.

The punk with the bag pulled out a picture of a young girl.

"Oh what's this pops? You got a thing for little girls? Are you a pervert or something?" He laughed.

Bella walked right up to the little bastard and snatched the picture from his hands.

"You little prick!" She growled. "Get the fuck away from him. What is wrong with you?"

"Geez lady, we are just trying to get rid of the scum on our streets here." One joked.

"Then you should go home and get off the streets!"She shot back at him. "Now leave him alone. I swear to God I will find the first cop I can and have you all arrested for assault."

"Fine, whatever you say, bitch. " He threw the pack at her. She caught it, but lost her footing. I caught her before she fell to the ground. The punks laughed, but ran off.

She handed Mac his pack and sandwich. "Here Mac. I am sorry that those little bastards bothered you. I think the picture is fine. It's a little wrinkled but should be fine."

Mac looked like he could cry at any moment. He accepted his pack and sandwich silently. It was the picture he was most interested in. He studied it for a second and then let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you Isabella. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to it." He was trying to regain control over himself.

"It's fine Mac. Eat your sandwich and keep that picture on you incase those little bastards come back okay?" She kissed his forehead. He nodded and continued to stare at the picture. "I'll see you later Mac. Be careful out here."

"I will. You do the same. Thanks for the help Bella." He smiled. He knew that he made her day.

We boarded the next bus not knowing where it was going. Again we sat in the back and ate our sandwiches.

"So what's up with that picture?" I asked before taking a bite.

"It's his daughter. Or was his daughter, I guess is how you would say it. His wife and he got in a big fight one night years ago and she left with their daughter. They were hit by a drunk driver and both were killed. It's why he is on the streets. He lost it after that. He couldn't work or function. He lost everything. I think he lives the way he does to punish himself. He thinks it's his fault." She bit her sandwich.

We were quiet for the next twenty minutes eating our sandwiches. I was digesting all that I had learned about Bella in the last hour alone. She liked people. She was selfless. She was brave. She stood up to those punks without a second thought. She was also much more fragile than I thought before. She put up a good mask. The breakup with Jake was killing her, but she refused to show it. I was sure it was because she didn't want her friends to worry about her. But one little chink in chain, and she was a mess. Last night she looked so heartbroken and sad in her sleep. She didn't deserve what had happened to her.

"Okay, enough depressing stuff Dr. Cullen, "She brought me out of my thoughts, "Let's go do something fun."

"Sure, but what do you want to do?" I asked.

"Well, this bus isn't going anywhere good, so let's get off at the next stop and head in the opposite direction. There's a music store there and I need a new CD." She smirked. The little spitfire was up to something.

"Okay…"I replied hesitantly. "But what are you really up to?"

She mocked horror and placed a hand on her chest. "Why Edward, whatever could you mean? "

"Alright, so don't tell me, but I will find out and I can't promise that I won't get you back."

"You can try." She sang.

We jumped off that bus, crossed the street and jumped another. Again she beat me to paying. She was enjoying the whole game of seeing who could pay first. She smiled back at me, and I couldn't fight the smile that spread across my face. Her smile was beautiful and it warmed my heart. I had to remind myself that she was my friend, and that I was here to help her.

We chatted on the next bus, but I couldn't figure out what she was up too with the trip to the music store. So instead of trying to figure it out, I just asked her about herself.

She told me about her mom some more and how she had been like a grown teenager. The cancer grew like a weed in her body and took her quickly. Bella spent three weeks with her, doing whatever she could to make her feel better. Phil was lost as what to do and mainly just sat next to Rene holding her hand. Bella was happy that she had those last three weeks, and when she buried her mother she knew that Phil wouldn't be around much anymore. The whole situation had hurt him too much, and she didn't blame him. Occasionally she'd receive a card or email from him. She enjoyed what she got and didn't push for more.

Charlie, she said, was a totally different person. He was quiet and reserved. He liked his quiet life in the small town, and enjoyed his job. He liked to fish and watch sports. She said that they didn't have much in common, but she still had a good relationship with him. He sounded like a good man, and one that loved his daughter very much. I could tell by the way she spoke of him that she adored him.

We finally reached the stop next to the music store. As soon as I saw the store, I knew what she was up too. This store had an rooms with instruments that you could play. She brought me here to play the piano. I glared at her and she laughed.

"Come on Edward. I have bared my soul to you the last few days, the least you could do is play _Mary Had A Little Lamb_ or something like that for me." She pulled me off the bus and to the store.

We walked to the counter and a young guy with a nose ring came up to us. I watched as he checked Bella out.

"Hey there pretty lady, what can I do for you." His voice was creepy to me, so I could only imagine how it sounded to her. She shuddered and stepped back towards me. I wrapped a protective arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"We wanted to rent a room…" he interrupted her

"Well, you can't do that here, but across the road…" That was beyond enough out of him.

"You damn well know what she meant. Don't be disgusting." I snapped at him. He recoiled for a minute but shot right back at me.

"I was kidding, gosh grow a damn sense of humor why don't you? What room do you want?"

"The piano one," Bella mumbled.

He rang it up and I quickly paid before she could. We had an hour. He showed us to the room and shut the door. As he did, I heard him mumble, "Asshole."

"Well that was fun." Bella watched him leave.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it." I laughed and walked to the piano.

"Okay, play me something." She smiled at me.

"Well, what do you want me to play?"

"I don't know. What can you play?" She tapped her chin.

"A lot. I know some Debussy…" Her eyes grew wide.

"Can you play Claire Du Lane?" Her voice was small.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite. You know it?" She surprised me again.

"Yes, it was my mom's favorite. We played it at her funeral." She trailed her finger across the top of the piano.

"Maybe I should play something else?" I asked.

"No! I would love to hear it, if you don't mind. I love it, and it makes me think of her." She smiled.

"Then sit with me." I patted the seat next to me. She did, and I started the song. She closed her eyes and took in the music. It was hard to concentrate on the piano with her so close. She took my breath away.

After that, I played some other songs for her, and before we knew it the creep from before was at the door telling us that time was up. With a heavy heart, we left the room. I had enjoyed every second playing for her. Tanya never let me just lose myself in the music, and she certainly didn't lose herself in my music.

As we walked to the door, I heard Bella squeal. I turned to look and the counter guy was laughing. Bella was bright red with anger.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"He pinched my ass!" She fumed. I turned to go kicked his ass, but she stopped me. Counter guy had stopped laughing and went to stand behind his counter again.

"It's not a big deal Edward, let's leave." She tried to calm me.

"Not a big deal? Bella, that's assault. I want to talk to his manager." I started to stalk over there again, but she grabbed my arm.

"Please Edward, I just want to leave. I don't care about getting him in trouble." Her brown eyes bore into me. I saw right there that I wasn't going to be able to refuse her request. She wanted to leave, so we would leave.

We rode the bus back to the apartment chatting the entire time. I told her all about my passion with music. I loved how she asked questions about it. No one, besides my parents and siblings, ever asked about my music. She was really interested in it too. She wasn't faking it. She was excited about everything I said. She asked a million questions about why I played and how I learned. It was so odd to have a conversation devoted completely to me, and I was starting to feel a little uneasy.

"What's wrong Edward?" Of course she noticed right away.

"I am just not use to talking about myself this much." She chuckled.

"Well, you should talk about yourself more often, you are very interesting." Her eyes twinkled when she smiled at me.

This was going to be an interesting friendship, that was for sure.

**DON'T KILL ME! Remember good things happen for those who wait.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- Alright boys and girls, heres the chapter you have been waiting for, Edward finds out. I've been working on it for two days trying to figure out just how to let him know. THanks for the reviews on the last chapter they were great. I would LOVE to hear y'alls thoughts on this one. Let me know!!!!! Enjoy!**

**BPOV**

The days after my time with Edward, my spirits had been much higher than before. I had a great day with him and I was thrilled to spend so much time with him. After we got off the bus Sunday evening, we ordered Chinese and watched XMen. It was a perfect ending to the day. He finally took off for home around 10pm. I still hadn't told him the truth.

I told Jasper that I didn't know how to tell him the truth. Jasper insisted that I needed to tell him, and soon. I agreed, but I just didn't know how to. I was ready to pull my hair out by Wednesday trying to come up with a way.

After classes I headed to work as usual. We were slow, but it was to be expected on a Wednesday in the late afternoon. I spent the majority of the time shelving books, and it gave me a lot of time to think. I could shelve books in my sleep; it didn't require my actual attention anymore.

I decided that I would tell Edward this weekend. He had a right to know. No matter what the consequences were to our friendship, I had to tell him. I would ask him to come over for something then take him to my room to tell him privately. Or I could take him for a walk at the park, that way he wouldn't feel closed in and could leave if he needed to. I would come up with something.

"Bella, "Angie's voice broke my concentration, "I know you've had a rough two weeks, and since we're pretty well dead why don't you head out? Go catch up on your sleep or something."

I had shelved almost the full cart of books, and there really wasn't anything else to do. At least this way I could get in some extra study time.

"Thanks Angie. I appreciate it. Let me sign out." We headed to the front desk. Since it wasn't my regular leaving time our security guard, Frank, wasn't waiting to walk me out. Angie didn't seem to notice, so I slipped out before she did. I was tired of being under constant surveillance.

For once, luck was with me and there was no Jake in the parking lot. I got in the truck and headed home.

When I entered our building I groaned aloud. Jake wasn't in the parking lot, no he was here and walking towards me.

"Go away Jake." I growled at him.

"I want to talk to you." He said.

I got on the elevator and he followed me. I stood up against the opposite wall from him and he was smart to stay back.

"Leave me alone Jake. I don't want to talk to you or deal with you anymore." The doors opened.

"How can you say that to me, Bells? After everything we have gone through together? Don't I mean anything to you?" He yelled down the hall.

I turned on my heel to face him. How dare he turn this on me!

"How about me, Jake? Didn't I mean anything to you? I talked to Leah the other day." His eyes grew wide. That was all the confirmation I needed. "So bite me. Leave me alone."

I turned and headed down the hall again to the apartment. This time I could hear his heavy footsteps speeding up behind me. I began to panic and almost ran to the end of the hall where my door was.

There in front of the door were a dozen roses.

"They are from me." Jacob said in a low voice. "I wanted some way to show you how sorry I am."

"Do you really think this makes anything better? Do you think you can leave a bunch of flowers at my door and I would melt? Give me a break!" I moved the flowers out of the way of the door. I put in my key and unlocked the door. As I opened the door I caught a glimpse of something coming towards me so I ducked. I heard the vase of flowers crash above my head as it came in contact with the door.

I was soaked from the water in the vase and had pieces of glass in my hair. I stood up and turned to stare at Jake. He looked horrified at what he had just done. I looked in the apartment to my friends with the same horrified look.

"What the fuck?" Emmett yelled. "Bella, what the fuck just happen?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but closed it again. I couldn't believe that he did that. I looked around and there was broken glass and roses everywhere.

"Bella, I am sorry. I didn't mean…" Jacob ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh shit, I can't believe I lost control of my temper like that."

Before I could respond to Jake, there were three large males standing in between he and I. Edward, Jasper and Emmett were barracking him from me. Alice was pulling pieces of glass out of my hair.

"Who the hell do you think you are dog? How dare you! You could have killed her!" Jasper growled at him.

"Get the hell out of here before your head is the next thing crack on a door." Edward told him.

Jake just stood there like the moron that he is. Even with the threats he was going to try to talk to me.

"Please Bella," he pleaded. "Say something."

Again I tried to speak, but the words wouldn't leave my mouth. I just stood there in shock. Emmett took that opportunity to hold Jake against the wall by his shirt collar.

"She doesn't need to say anything to you." He said through gritted teeth. "You need to get the hell out of here now."

Emmett slammed him hard against the wall once more and dropped him. Jake stood up straight and walked way. As soon as the door was shut and locked, I had an apartment full of people checking me over for injuries.

"Bella, what did he do, sweetie?" Rose handed me a towel and pulled me over to the couch to sit down. I just stared at her face.

"I got all the glass out of her hair." Alice told them.

"Bella, talk to us." Jasper was kneeling in front of me.

"Give her a minute you guys. That probably scared the hell out of her." Edward sat next to me and rubbed my back. I looked up at him and all the sudden the flood gates opened.

"Oh shit, did that just happen? Did he really throw that at me?" I was sobbing.

"Yeah, babe he did. But don't worry the boys took care of it." Alice held my hand and rubbed small circles on it.

I could see that I was visibly shaking. It did scare the hell out of me. He had lost his damn mind. What else was he capable of? He had never been physical with me. No matter how bad the argument, Jake never did anything that made me fearful of him. Now I was terrified.

My stomach flipped. I jumped up and ran to my bathroom. I threw up over and over again. Rose stood behind me holding my hair. Alice came in with a wine cooler in hand.

"Here, it's for your nerves." I nodded and stood up once I was done vomiting.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face I went to the living room. Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Tanya were all there. She had been there for the whole thing, but I hadn't noticed her until now. I wonder if she had a different opinion of her little lover boy now. She looked a little green.

"Are you okay?" Tanya had the nerve to ask.

"Yes." I chugged the drink.

"Oh, let's take it a little slower than that Bella. You need to eat too." Edward pulled the drink out of my hand.

Alice had made pasta and bread for dinner, so a plate was brought to me in the living room. I ate with a shaky hand. Once I finished the plate, I was given my drink back.

"I'll be right back." I got up and went to my room to shower and change. Because my legs were still shaking I couldn't stay under the water long. After I finished, I quickly dressed in some sweatpants and a tank top. Just as I had finished, there was a knock at my door.

"Come in." I yelled, not realizing it would be the one person I didn't want to see. Tanya came walking in my room. She shut the door behind her.

"What can I do for you Tanya?" I was flabbergasted. What could she possibly want with me?

"Look Bella, I wanted a chance to tell you that I was sorry about what I said the other day. I know that it was wrong for me to say, and that it wasn't true. You didn't deserve what Jake did to you."

I raised an eyebrow at her. Was she testing me? She had to know that I knew it was her.

"I just have been friends with him for awhile, and I have never seen the womanizer side of him, so it was hard for me to believe. After what I just saw, I would say there is a lot about him I don't know." She stared at her hands.

Holy shit, she didn't realize that I knew it was her. Maybe because I hadn't confronted her, she just assumed that I didn't know it was her? This was fucking priceless. What to do? What to do?

"Yeah, well imagine how it is for me Tanya. I've been with him for so long and friends with him for longer. Apparently I didn't know the real Jacob either. It's a shock when you learn an ugly truth about someone you have cared about."

"Oh, yeah, I am sure." She looked everywhere except at me. She was clearly uncomfortable. "Like I said, I just wanted to apologize and all."

"Okay, thanks Tanya. Don't' worry about it."

She walked out the door and before she could close it, Jasper was entering.

"Bella, are you okay?" He asked quickly and closed the door behind him.

"Oh my God Jasper, she doesn't know!" I whispered loudly.

"She doesn't know what?" He scrunched his eyebrows at me.

"She doesn't know that I know it's her! She doesn't know!" I felt like I would never be able to close my jaw again.

"No fucking way Bella! How could she not?" He was as confused as I was.

"Apparently she is as stupid as she looks! Oh wow."

"Well, she'll know soon enough when you tell Edward. By the way, when is that happening again?" He drilled me.

I fell backwards on my bed and sighed.

"I don't know Jasper. I don't know what to do with this information." I whined.

"I think you should make Rose and Alice's night by walking out there and announcing what you know." He chuckled.

"But Jasper, can you imagine what that will do to Edward? Isn't he in love with her?" I couldn't believe that my friend could be so heartless about this.

"He says that he really likes her. They've never used the love word. My understanding is that they are serious, but I don't hear wedding bells or anything." He shrugged.

"I'm not doing that tonight Jasper. It's cruel."

We stood up and headed out to the living room. Edward and Tanya were standing at the door getting their jackets on. Edward looked up and smiled when I entered the room.

"We got to go you guys. I have classes in the morning and she's got a flight, so we have to go get some sleep." He gave me his grin. I loved that grin.

"Yeah, sleep. That's what you have in mind I am sure." Tanya joked. It made me sick to my stomach. I was tempted to spit out my little grain of knowledge there, but again, I didn't want this to be done harshly.

"Alright, see you guys later." Jasper said to them before heading to the couch. I smiled at them and followed Jasper to the couch. It was going to be another night that I wasn't going to get to spend with Edward and it depressed me.

I watched a movie with my friends before calling it a night. I had an early morning class that I couldn't be late for. I should have got some studying done after getting off work early, but after the Jake incident I wasn't able to concentrate on much.

My sleep was restless all night. My dreams were a mixture between Edward and Jacob all night. I dreamt about what could happen when I let Edward know about Tanya.

The rest of the week I continued doing my normal things. I went from the apartment to school to work and home again. I didn't see Jake again the rest of the week. After I told Angie what happened she had Frank keeping an eye out for Jake.

I also didn't see Edward for the rest of the week. He had class and work at the hospital. I desperately wanted to tell him about Tanya so that I could get it over with. He needed to know and I needed to get this weight off my chest. It was suffocating me. Jasper was hounding me about it, and I wanted him off my back too. If he told Alice, she was would take Tanya by the ear over to Edward and make her confess. It was option.

Saturday I spent mainly at the library, studying. The house always had people in it, and made it difficult for me to concentrate. I got up early and headed out. After several hours of studying and catching up on my reading I finally dragged myself back to the apartment. I was looking forward to a hot shower, and movie marathon.

When I walked through the door, I was met with everyone in the living room. Alice bounced up and came running to me.

"We're going out tonight!" She beamed.

"Oh no Alice, I am so tired. I just studied all day…" Rose cut me off.

"Shut it Swan and take a shower. We'll be there in your room in a few minutes to put together something for you to wear." Her voice held the no nonsense tone that she was so good at. I groaned loudly, but did as I was told.

When I stepped out of the shower, I went to my room to find the outfit they selected for me. It was a short, tight dark blue dress and tall black fuck me boots. The lingerie was ridiculous seeing how no one would see it on me. It was a black lace set.

I quickly took the blow drier to my hair. Afterward I put some hot rollers in to add bounce. I heard a knock on the door and prayed that it was one of the girls since I was sitting there in my underwear.

"Who is it?" I called out.

"Silly Bella, it's just me." Alice called back. "Oh well, me and Rose."

"Come in." They came bouncing in the room ready to make me beautiful.

"Well Ms. Swan, I must say if I wasn't a straight woman, I'd have dirty thoughts about you in those lacey boy shorts." Rose swatted my ass.

"Knock it off Rose. Why am I wearing this? No one is going to see it." I complained.

"Maybe not, but it will make you feel sexy. And when you feel sexy, you act sexy so there you go." Alice started pulling out my curlers.

They were already dressed in their tight little dresses and heels. They always looked amazing, but they looked like two of the sexiest women I had ever seen. Once we were finally done getting me ready, we swayed ourselves out to the boys.

Tanya was sitting on the couch with Edward. I enjoyed seeing her jaw drop when I came out. I enjoyed the look in his eyes even more.

"Damn, you girls look fantastic. I don't know if we can take you out like this. Go get dressed." Emmett laughed. Rose swatted his arm.

"Shut up you oaf. Let's hit the club." She grabbed her keys and we were out the door.

Somehow I had pissed the Karma goddess off, because I ended up having to ride with Edward and Tanya. Rose drove her car, and it was filled with those two couples. Since I was the odd man out, I ended up in the backseat of Edwards's car.

Tanya was making the most of having me in the backseat. She kept running her hands up his thigh. He'd swat her hand away and glare at her. He didn't want to put on a show for me. She pouted at him more than once but he just shook his head at her. I thought about how it would go if I spilled the beans right there in the car, but I decided I wanted to live. He was already a driving like a bat out of hell; I didn't want him upset on top of that.

We got to the club right behind everyone else. Edward came to the passenger side of the car to open both mine and Tanya's doors. I thanked him and smiled. His smile back almost made my knees melt. It was only when Alice came bouncing up to me that I woke from my Edward induced stupor.

"Come on Bells, let's find you a man tonight; or at least a man for the night." She giggled and Jasper groaned. Alice and I looped our arms together and Rose joined me on the other side.

"Ladies, two drinks and I want to hit the dance floor!" Rose announced.

We walked in, and I was in awe of the club. I hadn't been to one since I was about 19 and none of the ones I went to were as nice as this one. Emmett quickly moved to secure us a booth.

Once we sat down, a long legged red head came to take our drink orders. She kept looking at Rose and licking her lips. Emmett was having a hell of a time not cracking up at the woman obviously checking Rose out.

We all place our orders, and she went to leave but Emmett stopped her.

"Oh one more thing, I want a round of tequila shots for everyone too." She nodded and headed off, glancing once more at Rose.

"Damnit Emmett, tequila in public is never good!" Rose hissed at him.

"Sorry sweetie just figured that I would give your girlfriend a chance to look at you one more time." He chuckled.

"She can look all she wants, doesn't bother me. Maybe we can get some free drinks or something out of this." She smirked. Rose was good at getting free drinks.

We chatted a couple more minutes until our drinks arrived. After doing our shots , we each drank our other drinks quickly. Emmett was about to order another round when our waitress showed back up. She had a single drink on her tray.

"This is for you honey." She smiled and set it in front of me. "It's from that gentlemen over there."

She pointed to the bar. There was a rugged, dirty blond guy sitting there staring at me. He winked, and I immediately blushed.

"Hey look at that! Bella already got someone after her and she hasn't even if the dance floor yet!" Emmett bellowed.

I didn't say anything, I just drank my drink. Red came back with the rest of the tables drinks. Rose chugged hers immediately.

"Come on hot stuff; let's go show that guy what you can do." She grabbed my hand and I grabbed Alice. We pushed our way through the crowd to the dance floor.

I was too drunk at that point to really care what song was playing, so I didn't take notice. What I did notice was Rose grinding behind me and Alice in front of me. I was sandwiched. Many dancers had stopped to watch us. I saw the guy from the bar approach the dance floor to get a better look.

He licked his lips at me and smiled. I was wet from just his smile. He was sexy and the look he gave me told me that he was thinking about doing some not so innocent things with me. I was up for the challenge at this point. It had been weeks since I had been with anyone, and the vibrator just wasn't enough anymore.

Slowly he made his way over to me. I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes, and after all the drinking I had just done, I liked it.

"Hey, my name is James." Rose and Alice took that as a cue to move on. He stepped in and took Alice's place in front of me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me close to his body. Whatever the new song was, he was right in step to the beat. I felt a hand pull up my thigh and I shivered.

"I'm Bella." I choked out. Between the drinks and just being overly aroused, I wasn't able to think straight.

"Bella, I like that. It's a beautiful name. It suits you." He took his nose and started to run it up and down the side of my neck. We were about three steps from having sex on the dance floor at this point. I could feel his erection pushing into my thigh.

"Thank you "was my lame response to his compliment. But again, drinking and being aroused was not helping the brain to function.

"I've been watching you tonight, and I have to say you are the sexiest thing I have seen here in a while." He gave me that smile that he had on earlier. My panties got just a little bit wetter. This boy was taking me home tonight.

Just as his hands were starting to grip my waist with a little more force, I heard the voice that I didn't want to hear tonight.

"Bella, what the fuck do you think you are doing?" Jacob yelled at me. Oh shit, this wasn't going to be pretty. And if I missed out on getting laid tonight, he was going to be one dead dog.

"I'm fucking dancing Jake, now go away!" I sneered at him. James took a step back and looked at Jake.

"I won't call what you are doing dancing! Have you lost your damn mind?" Jake snapped at me.

"I think she told you to fuck off Jacob, why don't you go find your own partner for the night?" James narrowed his eyes at Jake.

"Shut the fuck up James."Jake shot back. Great, they knew each other. I was quickly becoming sober and losing my chances at get my itch scratched.

"Go away dog!" Rose was by my side. "We don't want or need you here."

"I should have known you were part of this shit! You always were a whore!" Jake yelled. Instantly Emmett was nose to nose with Jake.

"You better watch how you talk to my girlfriend you bastard. I have no problem whooping your ass."

"Fuck you Goliath. Rose earned her whore title all on her own." Emmett punched Jacob in the face. When Jacob looked up again, there was blood coming out of his lip.

"That's just a warning punch you selfish prick. Go away or I'll really make you bleed." Emmett clenched his jaw.

"Oh shit!" Jake was looking past Emmett. In fact he was looking past all of us. He was staring straight at Tanya and Edward. My heart dropped, he couldn't say anything. "What the fuck Bella?"

He pushed his way past Emmett and Rose to Tanya.

"What are you doing here with him Tanya?" His face was red from angry. Tanya's eyes grew wide and she looked scared.

"Why wouldn't I be here with my boyfriend?" She said in a strained voice. I could tell she was hoping that he would take the hint and shut the hell up. But Jake never was one to take a hint.

"He is your boyfriend?" Jack laughed. "When did you start dating this jerk? I know you said we couldn't see each other anymore, but I never thought you'd be heading into the arms of this prick."

"Wait? When did you date Jacob?" Edward finally spoke up. I groaned in disbelief. Of all the places the truth could come out, it didn't need to be here and now.

"Um…" Tanya just stared at Edward. I swear there was smoke coming out of her ears.

"We weren't really dating." Jake chuckled darkly. "She just liked a little rough sex a couple times a week. And she decided that we shouldn't see each other last week. She said that she wasn't into it anymore."

"WHAT?" Edward yelled. "You were fucking him while we've been together?"

"Umm…" Tanya still couldn't form a sentence. Good for her for getting a sound out.

"How long have you two been together?" Jake asked Edward.

"It's been about a year and a half." Edward spat out at him. I could see Edward shaking from his anger.

"Oh well, I've been fucking her for about six months now. She's the bitch that was with me when Bella walked in." All eyes now turned to me. I felt the blood drain out of my face. I was in so much trouble.

"Is this true Bella?" Edward asked me.

"Um…." Great now I was just like Tanya. "Yes. I didn't know until recently." I hung my head in shame.

"You didn't feel the need to tell me?" He snapped at me.

"I tried to. I was planning on trying again tomorrow." I pathetically pleaded with him.

"Tried to tell me? What the hell does that mean?"

"Look, can we please just leave here and talk about it? I can explain a lot better, but not here."

"Fine, let's go." He started to head for the door.

"Wait Edward," Tanya yelled after him. He turned around and looked at her. "What about me? Are you just leaving me here? You aren't going to talk to me about this?"

"What is there to talk about? You've been fucking him while sleeping in my bed. Find your own way home. James looks like he could use a friend; maybe if you sleep with him he'll give you a ride. You and I are over." And with that he turned back to the door, leaving a very shocked Tanya standing in the middle of the club with everyone staring at her.

Edward walked quickly to his car. I had a hard time keeping up with him, but just managed to get to the car right after him. He still held my door like a gentleman. Even in rage, he remembered his manners.

He got in the driver's side, buckled up and started the car. Once we were out of the parking lot, he let out a deep breath.

"Explain, now." His voice was rough and angry.

"Okay, well it's not easy." I cracked my knuckles to try to calm my nerves.

"Just spit it out Bella. I think I can keep up." He snapped at me. I was slowly growing a little scared of him.

"Do you really think this is the best time to talk about this? I mean with you driving…." He cut me off.

"Explain, now." His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"Um…" I tried to think of how to begin. "Well, I didn't know it was her until that Friday night she came over to the apartment to surprise you."

"That's why you were acting so weird out? " He interrupted.

"Yeah, I didn't know what to say or do. I didn't think that blurting it out right there would be a good idea, and frankly I had to get the hell away from her. I figured I would tell you Saturday. But that morning, when I was coming down the hall I heard everything that she said, and something just snapped in me. I needed to be alone. I couldn't face anyone. On top of being hurt by Jake, I was then worried about how you would take the news of Tanya."

"What were you worried about?" His eyebrows scrunched together.

"I didn't want to be the one to tell you something that would hurt you Edward. She was your girlfriend and I know how bad it hurts to have someone you care about hurt you. Then I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me. And if you didn't believe me, then it would cause issues at the house. What if no one believed me? I was worried that everyone would stop talking to me. I couldn't lose anyone else." Tears were free falling down my cheeks. I turned my head so that he couldn't see me cry.

"Okay, so why didn't you tell me Sunday. You had me all to yourself."

"Aw, yes, Sunday. Well, that was me being selfish. I did have you all to myself, and it was the first time in weeks that I felt completely happy." I confessed. "We were having such a good day that I didn't want to spoil it. I wanted to hang out with you."

"Fine, then how about this whole past week, Bella? You could have called me at anytime." His voice had lost some of its anger in it.

"You were at work or school, just like I was. I had decided that I was going to tell you this weekend come hell or high water. I knew that she had a flight on Sunday, so I planned on telling you then. I just was trying to figure out how too. It's not an easy thing to tell you someone you know."

By this time we were in the parking lot at my apartment. We sat in silence for several minutes before he spoke again.

"Okay, fine I heard everything you are saying and why you did what you did." He bit the inside of his cheek.

"What now?" I asked quietly.

"Get out," his voice was flat and emotionless. I snapped my head towards him in shock.

"What?" He had to say that again.

"I said, get out."He repeated. "We are done talking."

"But Edward…" I started, but he cut me off.

"We are done talking Bella. Get out." He said once again.

I grabbed my purse and opened the car down. I started to step out, but stopped.

"I forgot to tell you the most important thing about all of this Edward." I was still crying, but trying to control it. I turned to face him, and he looked me right in the eyes.

"What could that possibly be?"

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you as soon as I knew. I am sorry that I didn't tell you this whole week. I am sorry that I broke your trust. But mostly I am sorry that Tanya did this to you. It's not fair, and I know it hurts. I am sorry that you are in pain." I turned away from him, and stepped out of the car. I closed the door carefully, knowing how much he loved that damn car. I walked to the side walk in front of our building and as soon as I was at my apartment putting my key in, I heard him peel out.

I slammed the door behind me and went straight to my room. After tearing off my clubbing clothes, I replaced them with pajamas and threw myself into bed. I spent another night crying myself to sleep.

**EPOV **

She had known for a fucking week that Tanya was screwing around on me, and didn't say a word. I was furious with Tanya and Jake, but mostly with Bella. I trusted her, and she spit on that trust.

I listened to her cry over that bastard, yet she didn't have the decency to tell me that my girlfriend was the one that she threw her shoe at that day. I smiled at that thought. At least someone got a hit in on Tanya.

My phone was blowing up with calls from everyone. Tanya tried calling several times, but there was no way that I was going to answer her calls. I saw that Jasper had called many times, but he was probably just checking up on Bella. Alice and Rose had called, and I hit ignore again. Emmett didn't call, probably because he was with Rose.

I drove straight to a liquor store down the road from our house. After purchasing two bottles of Jim Beam, I went home and locked myself in my room. I drank and thought about the news that had just been handed to me.

If truth be told, I didn't love Tanya. That was not why I was hurt or upset with her. I was upset, because she lied to me. We agreed to be only with each other, and she broke that promise. She never claimed to love me, but I thought she cared about me. If she did, then she wouldn't have gone out and fucked that dog.

Great, my girlfriend cheated on my with Seattle's largest whore. He was probably taking great pleasure in knowing that she was my girlfriend. He said that she recently broke it off with him, but why? I thought about it for a moment and that's when it dawn on me.

The day that he threw the vase of roses at Bella! Tanya told me that she obviously didn't know him as well as she thought she did, and had no plans of going to his shop anymore. He must have scared her. She must have pissed him off by breaking it off since he told me about her.

He is a bastard.

She's a whore.

Then we have sweet, innocent little Bella in all of this. Ha! She wasn't any of those things anymore. She stomped all over my trust because she was afraid of what would happen! She didn't want me to hurt! Well, I was hurting now and it was over more than just Tanya. I thought that Bella and I had a real connection. I thought that I could trust and care about her.

When she was dancing with that guy at the club, it took everything in me not to become unglued. I watched as his hands explored her body, and I was jealous. I wanted to do that with her. When she walked out tonight from her room in that outfit, all I wanted to do was take her back to her room and fuck her senseless. When she walked out of the apartment ahead of me, I couldn't help but watch the way her hips swayed. She was a walking temptation and she didn't even know it.

The entire ride to the club was me fighting Tanya off. I didn't want Bella to witness Tanya's flirting techniques in the car, so I kept pushing her hands off me. I looked in the rearview at Bella a few times, and she seemed to not be paying attention. When we got the club, I wanted to walk in with Bella, not Tanya. I wanted all the nasty bastards in there to see that she was with me.

But she wasn't. Then that James guys started his little flirt game with her that she fell for hook line and sinker. I wanted to pound him when he started dancing with her. I took Tanya down to dance, and imagined that she was Bella while I was kissing on her neck.

When I heard Jakes voice, I immediately stopped and pulled Tanya towards Bella with me. We were all going to show a united front around her. After his pissing contest with James, I saw him look up at Tanya with recognition in his eyes. I assumed it was because he works on her car.

Works on her car? I wonder how much under the hood work has actually been on the car and not Tanya.

Jacob enjoyed telling me he had been screwing her. I was already pissed, but when I realized that Bella know, I was infuriated. She was supposed to be my friend. Friends don't hide this shit. I wanted her to tell me why, so I drove her home.

Her reasons for not telling me immediately weren't total bullshit. I wanted to argue all her points she made, but I couldn't. She had just been through hell with Jake and she was worried about causing me the same type of pain. She was trying to shield me. Then on top of it all she was worried that I wouldn't believe her. I can see her point there too. If it came down to my girlfriend verses new friend, I would think I would believe the girlfriend. Ugh, it was too much to deal with tonight. Instead, I drank the rest of my bottle and passed out fully clothed in my bed. I would work it out in the morning.

**Poor Eddie. I wonder how he will get over this......**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- Okay this chapter is a little shorter than my others, but it's stuff that has to be said and gotten out of the way for the rest of the story. :) Remember to let me know what you think!**

Cheaters- Chapter Seven

The Morning After

**BPOV**

"Wake up Swan. You got a lot of explaining to do." I heard Rose say as she bounced on to my bed next to me.

"Yeah Bells, it's time to start spilling some serious gossip!" Alice practically sang.

"Wait Alice, aren't you pissed with me?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "I didn't tell your brother that his girlfriend was cheating on him."

"I figure you have your reasons."She shrugged. "What I am pissed about is that you didn't tell ME! I mean we are supposed to be best friends here! I couldn't stand Tanya, and you kept something like that secret! Ugh!"

Of course Alice was going to try to convince me she was more concerned that I kept gossip from her rather than be upset that I kept that secret from Edward. She wanted the whole story to go back to Edward with. I tried to roll over and escape the interrogations that were about to happen, but Rose stopped me.

"Nope," she popped her 'p',"you are going to sing like a bird here. Tell us what the hell happened, and start from the beginning!"

"Can I at least have coffee first? Please? I had a really bad night and coffee might make me feel like actually talking." I groaned.

"Fine, Alice, get coffee and pastries from the kitchen. We will have a girl's morning here in Bella's bed." Rose smooshed her butt deeper into my mattress.

I was able to lay with my eyes closed for another twenty minutes while Alice got everything. It gave me a chance to figure out how I was going to tell them everything. Rose was definitely going to be pissed that I didn't tell her. Especially when she finds out that Jasper knows. Maybe I should keep that to myself.

"Alright, here is your coffee and sugary goodness. Now talk." Alice set the tray in the middle of the bed.

I picked up the coffee and took a long sip of it. Both Alice and Rose just stared at me. I thought for about half a second what would happen in they were made to wait longer, but then I realized that I like my life and would want to keep it.

"Alright frick and frack, calm down. It started the night that you guys had Edward babysit me while you went out. Tanya came over to surprise him. I came out of my room after getting off the phone with Charlie, and Edward introduced her to me as his girlfriend. I took a good long look at her and that's when I realized who she was." I took a bite of the bear claw.

"That's why Edward asked what was wrong with you! You freaked when you saw her!" Alice practically bounced off the bed.

"Yes, that's exactly why I was freaking out. I didn't know WHAT to do. But I decided that I would talk to him the next morning about it. Well, the next morning is when I heard Tanya running her mouth about how Jacob's ex-girlfriend must have been doing something wrong, and it wasn't his fault for the break up. I had to leave. I couldn't listen anymore and I couldn't be near her. "

"Oh my God!" Rose squealed. "That explains so freaking much!"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about Rose?" I asked. What did that little bit of my story explain?

"After you left, Tanya changed tactics. She was no longer defending Jake, but instead the "whore" he was sleeping with. She kept making excuses for the whore, and how we shouldn't assume that the girl was a whore. It was all very confusing at the time, but now it makes total sense! Why didn't we put that together before?" Rose wondered aloud.

"Well, duh, Rose we didn't think that Tanya was the whore! Why would we? She never gave us reason to think that it was her. I just assumed that she was still trying to defend the whole Jake situation. I thought she might even know the chick that Jake was whoring around with, but never did I think it was HER!" Alice screeched.

"Makes sense to me. I mean if you guys had no reason to suspect that she'd do something like cheat on Edward, there was no reason for you to jump to that conclusion." I shrugged. "Anyways, after I listened to her Saturday I had to get out of here. I didn't have the ability to tell Edward. I decided to bus hop and try to figure out what to do. I didn't want to hurt him. I had all but decided to tell him immediately, but I ran into Leah at the café."

I heard Rose growl. She wasn't a fan of Leah's either. They had fought bitterly in high school, and neither would back down.

"Yeah, she let me know that she and Jake had been sleeping together for awhile. She also let me know that there had been quite the plethora of females in my bed when I wasn't home. I didn't back down to her, but once I got home I just lost it. Between the stress of telling Edward and then dealing with Leah I was emotionally exhausted." I sighed.

"That's why you were talking in your sleep; you always do that when you are stressed." Rose hugged me. "But babe, why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell us that Tanya was a whore?"

"You are going to be mad." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I was worried that no one would believe me. It would be my word against hers. And if everyone believed her, then I would lose my friends. I couldn't risk losing anyone else."

Tears formed in Roses eyes. She rarely cried, so I knew that what I said hurt her deeply.

"I'd never listen to someone over you. I know that you are the most honest person out there Bella. I can't believe that you would think that." She sniffled.

"I know Rose, I was stupid. But I wasn't thinking straight. I was dealing with the stress of Jake. I was worried about hurting Edward and the last thing I wanted was to risk what I had left." I was now crying with her.

"Okay, when were you planning on telling him then Bella? Surely, you were going to tell him right?" Alice was started to get impatient. I knew she was a bit more protective of him than she tried to play earlier.

"Yes I was going to tell him. I was going to talk to him Sunday. But then we went bus hopping and it was just a good day. I didn't want to screw it up. Alice, it was the first time in a long time that I was able to just relax and enjoy someone's company. We talked about all types of things. I took him to my favorite sub shop. We even went to a music store where we could rent a piano room for an hour so he could play. I didn't want to ruin it. I know it was selfish." I couldn't look up at her. She was his sister, and had every right to be pissed at me.

"He played for you?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah, I tricked him into going to the store, but once we were in the room he played the whole hour. It was great. Why?"

"He just doesn't play very often anymore. I am glad that you took him there. Piano has always been his release." She smiled. "Now continue on."

"Well, I didn't see him the rest of the week. I didn't think it was something I should tell him over the phone either. I finally decided that I had to tell him this weekend. I know that Tanya has flights on Sundays, so I was going to tell him today. But as you now, Jake beat me to it."

"So what happened last night? How pissed way he?" Rose questioned.

"Oh pissed is an understatement I think. He was furious." My voice was barely above a whisper. "He told me to explain myself. I did and he listened. Once we got to the apartment he told me that he heard everything that I said, and to get out."

"He told you to get out of the car?" Alice's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Yeah, he did. I told him that I was sorry. I was sorry for not telling him. But mostly I was sorry that Tanya did what she did. I don't expect him to want to talk to me anytime in this decade." I pushed the tray to the other side of my bed and lay back down.

"Aw, Bells, Edward is just hurt and upset. Give him some time and I am sure he will come around." Rose smoothed my hair down.

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. I have no control over it." I sighed deeply. "Do you think that maybe I could just lay here for awhile? I just want to be alone."

"Sure babe, we'll take the tray out. Let us know if you need us." Alice was already picking the tray up.

"Alice, are you sure you aren't mad at me?" I grabbed her arm before she could walk away from my bed.

"I am not mad. I'm hurt that you didn't trust me to believe you. But I am happy that you were worried about Edwards's feelings. I know that you are a good person Bella, and you just got put in a shitty situation. I really think things will work out." She gave me a small smile and walked out of the room.

Rose leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Rest chick, you've had a hell of a few weeks. You'll be fine in the long run."

I watched as she walked out the door and shut it behind her. I hope they were right and that I would be okay in a few weeks.

**EPOV **

The sun was peering through my curtains when I woke up. As soon as I opened my eyes my head started pound. This was going to be a hell of a hangover. It just proved that I shouldn't drink when I was upset, because I don't have a stop button.

I groaned and got out of the bed. Hang over or not, I couldn't just lie there anymore. I felt gross and needed a shower. I turned the water on warm and stripped down. There was a bruise forming on my left calf from where I ran into the coffee table during my drunken stupor. It wouldn't be the first bruise from me trying to walk around while drunk and stupid. I was surprised there weren't worse injuries.

Once I was in the shower, I let the water pour down on me. Last night's events were coming back to me and I was growing angry again. That whore Tanya. I still can't believe she slept with Jacob Black. And it wasn't a onetime thing. She did it several times. I wondered how many times she told me she had a flight or errands to run and really she was out with him.

I was going to have to go get tested for STDs. I always used a condom, more for pregnancy protection, but I knew it wasn't 100%. Who knew what Jake was carrying? I hoped that Bella got tested after she found out about Jake and his extracurricular activities.

Oh yeah, Bella. I had almost forgotten about that part of last night. I was so angry with her when I first found out that she knew all this time. But that anger subsided some when I heard the reasons why she didn't tell me. I was still upset with her, but I could see her side. Then when she apologized last night, not only for herself but said that she was sorry that I was hurting, my heart melted some. She really did care about me, and didn't want to see me hurt. I was going to have to talk to her, but not yet. I wasn't ready for that conversation yet.

I turned the water off, and climbed out of the shower. I brushed my teeth and attempted to do the same to my hair, but it was a lost cause. After pulling on some jeans and a t-shirt I headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Emmett and Jasper were already sitting in the living room.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling this morning?" Emmett looked up from the show they were watching.

"Hung over and pissed off at that moment," I grabbed a cup from the cupboard. After making some coffee I joined them in the living room.

"So what happened last night after you and Bells left?" Jasper asked. I knew I was treading on thin ice with him about this. Bella was like a sister to him, and I had no doubt that he would have my ass if I upset her too much.

"She told me that she had wanted to tell me, but that something always came up. She had planned on telling me today. She apologized for not telling me. Then she said she was sorry that Tanya hurt me." I took a long sip of my coffee.

"What did you say?" Jasper was still eyeing me.

"I told her to get out of my car." I didn't look up at him. I knew what the response was going to be.

"YOU FUCKING DID WHAT?" He was on his feet.

"Calm down Jasper. Just chill out," Emmett said.

"Chill out? She fucking lays it all out there for you and your response was to tell her to get out of your car?" He seethed at me.

"Yes, that was my response Jasper because I was pissed off. I had a bad fucking night, and I blamed her for some of it." I snapped at him.

"She fucking wanted to tell you Edward. She didn't want to hurt you." He sat down.

"Wait, how do you know that?" I snapped my head in his direction.

"She told me Sunday morning when I woke up. Well, I dragged it out of her. She had all intentions of telling you that day, but I guess you guys were busy doing whatever and she didn't." He crossed his arms.

"Why didn't YOU tell me?" I slammed my hand on the coffee table.

"Because moron, it wasn't for me to tell you, Edward! She was the one that had seen Tanya, not me. She wanted to make sure that you were told in the best way possible. I tried to get her to march out in the living room and tell you the night that Jake showed up, but she refused. She said that it would be cruel to embarrass you in front of your friends."

She really was concerned about how to tell me. It wasn't just an excuse as to why she hadn't told me. She was worried about how I was going to take it. Hell, she didn't want to call Tanya out in front of our friends because it would embarrass me too.

The whole situation was out of hand completely. I wasn't really upset that Tanya was gone; she wasn't that big of a loose frankly. I was upset that cheated on me, and the fact that it was with that disguising pig, JB. I treated Tanya like gold. Even though I wasn't in love with her, I did enjoy being with her. She was a damn lioness in bed. But I guess I now see that some of her moves, she was practicing with others. I wondered how many others there could have possibly been.

Bella found out that there were many others with Jacob. I don't think that Tanya had the time to be with more than must Jake, but she could have lied about her flights. This is bullshit; I hate to be lied to.

If I had to be honest, I was upset with Bella because I was starting to have feelings for her. I wasn't sure about what was going on, but ever since that day on the bus, I was seeing her in a totally different light. She was smart, funny, loving, and compassionate. She wasn't totally wrapped up in herself and her own interest. She wanted to hear me play piano. She wanted to get to know me. So if my heart was broken for any reason it was because I thought that I might be able to develop something with her.

I was resting my head on the back of the couch when I heard the knock on the door. I groaned and dragged myself off the couch. Jasper and Emmett didn't even flinch from their show. God forbid they actually pull themselves away from the TV to answer the door. I opened the door, and there in front of me was Tanya. It took everything in me not to slam the door in her face.

"What do you want Tanya?" I spat at her.

"I came to talk to you about all of this Edward. We need to work through this." I couldn't believe she said this with a straight face.

"Work through what? Are you talking about the fact that you were whoring around with Jake Black? Is that what you want to talk about? "I sneered; she flinched at the sound of my voice.

"Edward, I am sorry. I made a mistake, and it's not one I will make again. Please, can't we have another chance?" she pleaded.

"Are you freaking crazy? No we can't have another chance!" I yelled at her. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to calm down. "Look Tanya, I'm pissed at how this happen, but it was going to happen anyways. We weren't meant to be together forever anyways. We've been together for a year and half, but I am still not in love with you. We are good friends, and I enjoy being with you, but that's it. We were going to be breaking it off before too long. So let's just do it now. "

She sighed and stared off into nowhere. "You're right, we don't love each other. If I had loved you I wouldn't have done what I did. Fine, we are over. I just wish it had been on better terms."

"Yeah, me too, but it is what it is." I shrugged.

"Have you talked to Bella today?" Tanya asked nonchalantly.

"No, why would you care if I had?" That question coming from Tanya sounded suspicious.

"I was just wondering if Jake called her last night. He called me several times last night and he was fuming about her dancing with another guy at the club. He made me nervous with how angry he was. "

"I'll call Alice, but I think all is fine." I ran my fingers through my hair. "Well, I'm done with this conversation now. Please leave. "

"Goodbye Edward." She smiled slightly.

"Bye Tanya." I nodded and closed the door.

When I turned around, Jasper was standing in front of me. I could tell by the look on his face that he was pissed with me.

"So you can just let everything go with Tanya, but you make Bella feel like shit?" He snapped at me.

"How do you know I made her feel like shit?" He wasn't there, he had no clue.

"I just got off the phone with Alice. I was worried about Bella. Alice said that they talked about everything this morning, but that Bella asked to be left alone and went back to bed. She hasn't emerged since then."

"Maybe she just wants to be alone Jasper. I am starting to understand that feeling…"

"Yeah, or maybe she's feeling depressed and upset about everything." He took a step forward. "You treated her like shit last night."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. But Jasper you got to understand something…" I took a deep breath. "I'm not that upset about Tanya because even though we were together, we never really had anything that special. I'm upset with Bella because from the moment we met, I felt a connection to her. I felt that I could trust her, and I enjoyed being with her. We were instant friends. She broke my trust."

"Oh boo- freaking- hoo Edward." Emmett jumped up from the couch."You and your stupid trust crap. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. No, I'm not happy that she didn't tell, but I fucking understand where she was coming from. If you can't, than you are a fucking moron."

Emmett stormed down the hall and slammed his door. Jasper and I both watched him in shock. It wasn't very often that Emmett lost his cool like that with one of us.

"He is right Edward. Get your head out of your ass and go talk to her." Jasper followed Emmett's lead and went to his own room. They left me standing in the middle of the living room with my jaw hanging open.

They clearly didn't understand how badly Bella hurt me. If they did, they wouldn't be pissed with me right now. I wasn't ready to talk to her about all of it yet. She'd be fine and it would give me time to cool down. Nothing would get resolved right now if I went there right now. I would get angry all over again and make it worse.

Instead of listening to my friends and going to talk to her, I grabbed my jacket and head out to get some breakfast. I couldn't spend the day here with these hot heads, so I would find other things to do. Stop one was some blueberry pancakes.

**Ummm...pancakes..with edward.;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N- Alright my lovies, here is the next chapter. I am moving forward with the story as fast as it comes to me. I had planned to go a totally different way with this chapter, but I think this works best. Assward is still highly in effect, but maybe he can redeem himself soon. Maybe. Remember to let me know what you think!!!!Thanks.**

Cheaters- Chapter Eight

Life moves forward

**BPOV**

Two freaking weeks; that's how long it had been since Edward and I had talked. Two weeks since he kicked me out of his car. Everyday my hope that he would call or stop by dwindled just a little bit more. He was obviously done with me, and it really hurt. I deserved it though, I should have told him as soon as I realized that it was Tanya I had seen in bed with Jacob.

Jacob was definitely a whole other can of worms for me to deal with. He was still pissed at me for dancing with that guy at the club. Apparently we being broken up didn't mean anything to him. He could fuck every female around him when we were together, but I couldn't even dance with someone when we were broken up. I had to turn my phone off because he wouldn't quit calling and texting. He was driving me nuts. His apologizes ranged from pathetic to scary. So I decided that ignoring him was the best way.

Rose and Alice did their best to cheer me up. But I felt bad because Edward refused to visit the apartment, so he wasn't getting to see his siblings and friends as much. I offered to go out somewhere so he could come over, but they all refused.

"If he can't pull his head out of his ass, then that's his problem." Emmett announced.

"Seriously Bella, you realized that you were wrong and you apologized to him. He needs to get over it and move on. He didn't even love the tramp, so he should really stop brooding already." Alice blew on her nails that she had just finished painting.

I nodded and headed to my room. I felt better being alone. I pulled out all my school books and attempted to get some work done. I was half way through my English assignment when I heard the door bell ring. Fearing that it was Jake, I stayed where I was. It wasn't until I heard Edwards voice that I walked down the hallway.

"Anyways, I just wanted to drop this off. I know you need it." He was handing Alice a Tupperware case that she had left over at their house a few weeks ago.

"You know Edward; you don't have to have an excuse to come over. And if you really wanted to get this back to me, all you had to do was give it to Jasper or Emmett. Now come in and sit down." She pointed to the couch.

He looked up and saw me standing in the doorway. Almost as soon as he made eye contact, he broke it again. He looked back at his sister.

"No, I got plans. I will talk to you later." He hit the door frame with the palm of his hand and left.

"I'm sorry Bella…." I stopped Alice from going any further.

"Don't worry about it Alice." I turned around and went to my room. Once I was locked into my own dark cave, I laid down on my bed. All thoughts of homework were gone.

Edward still refused to see or talk to me. This was getting ridiculous. How could he just ignore me like this? The boys told me that he had talked to Tanya and all was fine on that front. They weren't together anymore, but they ended things on good terms.

How could he be so forgiving to her, but not to me? I was trying to protect him, yet that didn't seem to matter. He was more concerned with his fucking pride then giving me another chance. I had enough.

I pulled on some jeans and a sweatshirt. After pulling my hair up and brushing my teeth, I headed to the front door.

"Where are you going Bella?" Rose called to me.

"To tell Edward to kiss my ass," I called back to her. I heard a round of applause and laughter.

The ride to his apartment was only about twenty minutes. I practiced my speech the whole ride over there.

I pounded on his door, and he threw it open before even asking who it was. It was obvious that I was the last person he expected to see. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I am here to tell you to knock it off." I seethed at him. "Be mad at me, but quit doing this."

"Doing what?" He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Quit acting like we can't be in the same room. Quit ignoring your family and friends. Stop sitting here moping and go see your sister for Christ's sakes." I yelled. I was tired of this. "If you want to set up a damn visiting schedule then we will. I will leave the apartment just so you can be with them."

"Look Bella…" I cut him off.

"I am sorry Edward for not telling you. I really am. I just didn't know how to do it. I don't want this to cause anymore problems. Please, if you can't forgive me, don't keep it away from those who love you. Please." I was fighting back the tears. I couldn't take this anymore.

"Edward?" I heard a female voice in the background. Then I saw Tanya step up to the door. "What are you doing here?" She snapped.

"Fucking figures! " I shook my head. I turned on my heel and headed back to my car.

"Bella, wait…" I hear him yelling after me, but I didn't respond. I just kept going.

Once I pulled out of the parking lot, I called Angie.

"Hey Angie, I need a HUGE favor…." I told her my plans, and she agreed to help any way that she could.

I walked into the apartment twenty minutes later. I walked past everyone in the living room and they just stared at me. I was sure that my red eyes and cheeks showed how it went with Edward. There was no need to ask.

I walked into my room, sat on my bed and cried for about twenty minutes. Finally I tried my eyes and pulled out my suitcase. I began to fill it with my clothes. About half way through, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in." I called out.

"Bella…" Rose stopped talking and her eyes grew wide. "I sure hope this is for some clothes drive."

"Nope, I am out of here Rose. I was crazy to think this was going to get better." I shoved more into the suitcase. "I have ruined enough of your days while I have been here. I don't know who I thought I was fooling, but it wasn't going to work out."

I closed the suitcase. I pulled some personal items in a backpack and threw it on my back.

"I love you Rose, and thank you letting me stay here, but I have to leave. I will call you next week and give you more details. But I will be fine." I started to walk out of the room.

"Wait Bella," Rose called out. "Are you going back to Jake?"

I laughed. There wasn't enough pain in the world to make me go back to him.

"No. That will never happen. I am going to stay with Angie while I get my shit together. But once I leave you guys can go back to normal."

"What are you talking about Bella?" Alice had joined in the conversation.

"You guys can all hang together again, including Tanya and Edward." I huffed.

"What? Edward and Tanya? What are you talking about?" Emmett was on his feet.

"I went there to apologize again. I tried to talk to him, but Tanya was there and demanded to know what I was doing there. So I left. If I get out of the picture then everyone can go on with normal life." I dragged my suitcase down to my truck, but stopped dead in my tracks.

I heard Alice gasp behind me. In front of me was my dear beloved truck, smashed up. Someone had taken something heavy like a hammer and crushed her. The tires were slashed and the windshield was completely busted out. The hood was up and all the wires were sticking out. The battery was also gone. I walked around the truck and saw that the entire body had been smashed up.

It took everything in me not to drop to my knees and cry. Instead I sucked it up, and pulled out my phone.

"Angie, can you come get me? It looks like Jake decided he wanted to take his anger out on my truck." She agreed and we got off the phone. I dropped my suitcase on the ground and sat on it. My friends were standing near me, but saying nothing. There was really nothing to say.

Once Angie showed up, I hugged them goodbye and promised to call later on. Rose said that the truck could stay there until I could afford to tow it away. I nodded, got in Angie's car and left. As soon as we were away from the parking lot, I let the tears flow again. Angie held my hand, but didn't try to talk, she just let me cry.

**EPOV **

It had been two weeks since I had last seen Bella. I thought that with time, it would get easier to go talk to her, but it wasn't. I knew that I was being a bastard at this point, but I was still too much of a coward to admit it.

Jasper and Emmett were barely even talking to me at this point. Emmett talked to me more than Jasper, but he said it was only because I was his brother and he was required to talk to me. Gee, that statement made me feel all warm and cozy inside. Brotherly love was just wonderful.

After Jasper and Emmett had headed out to the girls apartment, I decided that I needed to see Bella. I was going to try to make this right for once. I wanted to make this right. I wanted a chance at being friends with her, and maybe one day we could be more. I finally realized that she did what she did to protect me. While I didn't agree with how she did it, I understood it. Had I been in the same situation I probably would have done the same thing.

I grabbed a Tupperware for Alice to give me a reason to be there. I knew that Alice would see through my lame attempt but, it made me feel better to have a reason besides talking to Bella. I pulled out of the parking lot and determined that I would do this. I practiced my speech over and over again. I would admit that I was an idiot, and beg for her forgiveness. It was the best I had.

When I rang the bell, I wasn't surprised to see Alice open the door .She smiled instantly when she saw me.

"Well, well, it's the lost brother. Did you come to rejoin our cult here?" She winked.

"Something like that, I saw this at the house." I pushed out the Tupperware dish in front of me.

"You drove over here to bring my Tupperware dish?" She raised an eyebrow. I was such a rotten liar.

"Anyways, I just wanted to drop this off. I know you need it." I was drowning in my lie. I couldn't even think of a good reason anymore.

"You know Edward; you don't have to have an excuse to come over. And if you really wanted to get this back to me, all you had to do was give it to Jasper or Emmett. Now come in and sit down." She pointed to the couch. I was going to walk in and sit down with everyone else, but then I looked up and saw Bella.

She didn't look like the same Bella anymore. She was thinner and looked sad. I could see the bags under her eyes. I instantly felt horrible. This was because of me. I couldn't talk to her. I had hurt her enough, it would be best if I just left.

"No, I got plans. I will talk to you later."I hit the door frame with the palm of my hand and left.

I got in my car and drove away. I had really wanted to stay, but once I saw Bella I just couldn't. I wasn't mad at her anymore, I was mad at myself. I couldn't believe that I had been such an ass to her. I knew that those bags under her eyes were my fault. I couldn't take the pain my chest anymore I needed release.

There was one person that was always good for a release. Tanya. I quickly dialed her number.

"Hey Tanya, will you meet me at my apartment in twenty minutes?" She giggled and it made me a little sick to my stomach.

"Sure Edward. Is there anything in particular that you need?" Her voice was seductive.

"No, just you naked in my bed for now will do. But I want you to realize that this doesn't mean we are together, this is completely a booty call." It sounded harsh, but fuck it; she should be use to that after Jacob.

"That's fine with me Edward. I'll be there shortly." She hung up and I stepped on the gas.

By the time I arrived she was already sitting outside in the parking lot. She was wearing one of my favorite skirts on her, and her thigh high boots. My guess was that there were no panties under that skirt.

"Well hello handsome. I hear that you need some help." She ran her hand up my crotch. I was painfully hard by now. "Oh looks like I am here just in time."

"Get inside." I growled at her. "I am going fuck you until you can't walk again."

"That's what I was hoping for." She giggled and headed up the stairs. From my angle behind her, I could see that my thoughts were right, she had no panties on.

I opened the door and immediately pushed her up against a wall. My hands started traveling up her thighs until they found her very naked sex. She was already wet for me.

"God I love how easily you get wet." I moaned into her mouth as I kissed her deeply. I inserted a finger and she moaned in pleasure. I added a second and she started to grind on my hand. I pulled my hand out, and pointed to my bedroom.

"Go. I want you in my bedroom now." I slapped her ass and she squealed. She was already at my bedroom when I heard someone pounding on the door.

"Who the FUCK could that be?" I ran my hand through my hair. It was perfect fucking timing for someone to stop by for a house call.

When I opened the door and saw Bella standing there my jaw dropped. What was she doing here? Tanya was in my room waiting for me, and I had Bella standing in front of me. This wasn't good.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" I asked. She had to leave before she saw Tanya. I'd never be able to explain this.

"I am here to tell you to knock it off." She attempted to look mean and mad, but instead came across as mean as a kitten. "Be mad at me, but quit doing this."

"Doing what?" I wasn't sure what she was referring too. I crossed my arms. Did she already know that Tanya was here? Or was she talking about me not hanging out at the apartment anymore? Maybe she was talking about me ignoring her.

"Quit acting like we can't be in the same room. Quit ignoring your family and friends. Stop sitting her moping and go see your sister for Christ's sakes." She yelled at me. Just looking at her I could see that she was emotionally exhausted. "If you want to set up a damn visiting schedule then we will. I will leave the apartment just so you can be with them."

She was willing to leave the apartment so I could be there? She really had no clue that I was ashamed of my behavior towards her. That was the real reason I hadn't been there. I couldn't face her. I knew that the way I acted that night was ridiculous. I needed to explain it to her.

"Look Bella…" I tried to tell her, but she cut me off.

"I am sorry Edward for not telling you. I really am. I just didn't know how to do it. I don't want this to cause anymore problems. Please, if you can't forgive me, don't keep it away from those who love you. Please." I could see the tears in her eyes, and how hard she was trying to hold them back. I was about to reach out and hold her when I heard Tanya.

"Edward?"Tanya called to me, and then walked up to the door. She glared at Bella. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was filled with hate.

"Fucking figures! " Bella said under her breath and shook her head in disgust. I knew this looked bad. Hell, it was bad. I had spent all this time avoiding Bella, the one that did nothing to me, but here I was with Tanya. Bella turned around and took off quickly.

"Bella, wait…" I called to her, but she didn't even acknowledge her. She just kept walking.

I slammed the door closed and faced Tanya. She must have thought that this was a good thing because she was instantly all on me.

"Good, now that she's gone we can get back to what we were up to. I always hated when she fucked up my good time." She smirked. Suddenly it was clear to me. Tanya was not only a slut, but a bitch. She wasn't someone that I even wanted a booty call from. She didn't care who she hurt. Bella did nothing to Tanya, but Tanya had no issues hurting Bella.

"Get out." I growled at her.

She looked shocked, but quickly regained her focus.

"You don't mean that Edward. Come on; let's go to your room. You can spank me. I know how much you like that." She licked her lips.

"I can't believe that I was with you for so long. I can't believe I called you for a booty call!" I screamed. "Why would you treat her like that? What did she do to you?"

"This is about BELLA?" Tanya threw her hands in the air. "Everything is always about her. Jesus, even Jake would worry about her. He sulked forever after she left him. Why does he need her when he had me when he wanted me? She's a big girl, she is fine. I just wanted her gone!"

"Well, now I want you gone. Get out, and don't worry about me calling you again." I opened the door and pointed to the sidewalk.

She stalked out of the apartment and I slammed the door behind her.

I threw myself on my bed and mentally beat myself up for being so stupid. Bella came all the way over here to try to work things out and now things were worse than before. I was sure she had already told everyone about what happened, so going over there was definitely out. My siblings loved me, but had no issues telling me when I was stupid. I was sure to get an ear full once Jasper and Emmett got home.

*************************************

**Three weeks later **

**EPOV **

It had been strangely quiet at the apartment. The night after the Tanya incident, Emmett and Jasper came home but said nothing about it. That led me to believe that Bella didn't say anything. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized she had said something.

Emmett was making plans to go to some outdoor concert and wanted to know if I wanted to come along. When I told him yes, he asked if Tanya was coming too or if she'd have a flight. I had to explain the whole stupid story to him, and how I once again screwed up. He just shook his head and agreed that I had royally screwed up.

I stayed away from the girls' apartment still because I wanted to give Bella her space and time. Okay, really it was because I was still a fucking coward. I didn't want to face her. I asked Emmett to tell them that I wasn't dating Tanya, and he just laughed at me.

"That's something you can do on your own little bro."

So after three weeks of this stupid avoidance game that I had played I finally decided that I needed to go over there to talk to Bella. It was Thursday evening, the first day I had off all week. Emmett and Jasper had already headed over there.

I waited until they had been gone for awhile before I went. I wanted to make sure they were there before I got there.

When I pulled up in the lot, to say I was shocked would be the worlds' largest understatement. I saw the damage to Bella's truck. I walked around the truck to examined all the dings and scratches. All four tires were flat.

"I wish they'd move that damn eye sore!" An older man yelled to me.

"How long has it been like this?" I questioned. No one had mentioned this to me.

"It's been almost a damn month now! I understand that the girl can't afford to have it towed, and it wasn't her fault that it was vandalized, but its past time for it to be taken care of." He shook his head.

"I'll get it towed away sir. Don't worry, it will be gone tomorrow." He smiled at me.

"Thank you. I am sure that the little brunette will be happy for that too." He turned and went to his apartment.

I jogged to the girl's apartment to see what else I had missed since all of this started. Did Jake hurt Bella? Was she there when this happen? I had so many questions.

I pounded on the door until Rose finally answered it.

"Oh, it's you." She snapped. "I hope you didn't bring your whore, she isn't allowed in this apartment."

"She isn't my whore Rose. We aren't together." I snapped back. "I got lonely. Hell, I got horny and I called her. It was a mistake."

Rose smiled. It was the first honest to God smile I had ever seen on her face.

"That's the smartest thing I have ever heard you say. Glad the whore is gone. Come in." I walked past her and she shut the door.

Emmett, Jasper, and Alice were sitting in the living room playing guitar hero. I knew that Bella should be off work by now, so I figured she was in her bedroom.

"Rose, where is Bella? I really need to talk to her." Everyone stopped and looked at each other, but no one tried to say anything.

"Helloooooo! Are you guys okay? Where is Bella, I need to talk to her." I repeated.

"She doesn't live here anymore." Rose took a drink of her beer. She didn't make eye contact with me.

"Wait, what do you mean she doesn't live here?" I looked around the room. "Where does she live?"

They were all quiet again. No one wanted to offer up any information.

"Did she go back to Jake?" My heart actually hurt from the thought.

"No, nothing like that, "Jasper said, "She just decided that she couldn't live here anymore and needed to leave. She is staying with a friend."

"When did this happen?" I had a good idea that I already knew the answer to the question.

"The day she walked in on you and Tanya. She insisted that if she left then we could all go back to being normal. I think she thought you weren't bringing Tanya over because of her. So she left." Emmett told me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I was angry now. She was gone and I could have cleared this up weeks ago.

"Because it was none of your business Edward," Alice chimed in. "This was her decision, and we respected it."

"What do you mean it was none of my business?" I was quickly growing irate.

"It. was. not. your. business." Rose punctuated each word. "You hurt her and you get no explanation of what happens in her life."

"I was hurt too!"I yelled. "It was my girlfriend that cheated on me, and my friend that lied to me about it."

"Fuck you Edward." Rose was quickly approaching me with finger pointing at me. "You have no idea what you are talking about."

"Did you miss this past month Rose?" I asked her.

"No, I haven't. But you obviously have made yourself into more of a victim than you really were." She narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"You found out that a chick that you were basically using for sex and arm candy was screwing someone else. Big fucking deal! You didn't love her Edward. You didn't lose anything. You proved that by calling her for a booty call. You could still have what you want from her and have no issues." She pressed her finger firmly into my chest.

"But Bella has lost more than most in the past year and half. She is in pain. She's lived with the controlling ass dog of a boyfriend, her mom died, her stepdad all but ignores hers, then she finds out that the dog was cheating on her all this time. She LOVED Jake, Edward. He was her best friend. She planned to spend the rest of her life with him. She lost all of that. Then when she found out about Tanya, she tried to protect YOU from that pain. She didn't know that you didn't love Tanya. She assumed that you loved Tanya like she loved Jake. She didn't want you to hurt! How do you thank her for trying to come up with a way to break the news to you in a decent way? You fucking yell at her, and then ignore her for over a month. So fuck you Edward Cullen, you are not the victim. Right now my best friend is hurting, refuses to let anyone help her because she thinks that she is a burden. This is YOUR fault."

Emmett walked up behind Rose and hugged her. She started to sob. I was an ass. She was right about it all. I didn't love Tanya, and at most it was just my pride that was hurt when she did what she did.

"What happen to her truck?" I asked quietly.

"We think Jake had some fun the day she came home from your house. He probably followed her to your apartment, and was pissed that she was there. I think it was revenge." Jasper told me.

I flopped down on the couch and sighed. I screwed so much up.

"So do you know where she is?" I asked Jasper.

"Yeah, she is living with Angie and her husband Ben while she saves up money to get her own place."

"I thought she didn't make enough money at her job to support herself?" I remembered her telling me that the Sunday we spent bus hopping.

"She got a second job at nights and on the weekends. She is a waitress at some sports bar." Rose rolled her eyes. "So basically between school and work she's trying to kill herself."

I thought about ways to fix this situation. This was ridiculous and it was mainly my fault that she felt she wasn't welcomed in this apartment anymore.

"Can you call her and ask her to come over Rose?" I looked over at her. She sadly shook her head no.

"Her cell was through Jakes plan and since she refuses to take his calls he turned her phone off. She can't afford to get her own cell plan, so it's hard to get a hold of her. I have Angie's number, but I know that she isn't with her right now."

"Fine, we are fixing this situation." I stated matter-of-factly.

"Alright, I am all ears, how do we fix this?" Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"This is how…." They all sat down near me and we discussed my plan. Starting tomorrow Bella was going to be living a dramatically different life than she had been the last three weeks. I was done being Assward, and I was going to step up to the plate.

**HOpe Assward is really gone. I've been pissed with him all day because of the Tanya incident. I mean really, if he needs a booty call, I can always find a damn babysitter....;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N- **

**First ,to the one that accused me of writing a story that is just like the others where Bella is a victim and Edward is an ass…bite me. If you are going to leave that type of review, use your name, not anonymous. And frankly you have no idea what is happening in MY story, so again bite me. Bella isn't a freaking victim in this story. Yeah, a ton of bullshit has happened, but a victim wouldn't get up and move on. She is strong and is doing what she needs to do for HERSELF. Edward has been an ass, because he was HURT. It happens in life. He didn't know how to handle being hurt by Bella or Tanya, so he acted like an ass. I've been married 12 years; I can attest that men act like asses when you hurt them. So Edward being an ass is just part of him getting over being hurt. **

**Okay now to my readers that are ready to attack and kill Eddie boy, this whole chapter is in Edwards POV. He will redeem himself A LOT here. Just give him a chance. I know that calling Tanya was a horrible thing to do, but he DIDN'T go through with it. He realized that he was being a douche, and told her to leave. Give the man some credit. We all know that majority of men think with their smaller heads. Frustration led him to want to have a release, and who better than from a whore? Hehehe…**

**Now he wants to redeem himself and I want to help him. So keep an open mind. Remember we love Edward in the long run. He made a mistake, and now he is going to have to fix it. Bella wants to take care of herself and let everyone else get on with their life, so she is trying to do that. I for one think that Eddie deserves a second chance from us and Bella deserves a freaking pat on the back for not going to back to Jake just so that she can be comfortable and feel loved again. Remember to review and let me know what you think. ******

Cheaters –Chapter Nine

Edwards Plan

**EPOV **

"We finally a man with a plan that we can have fun with and make Jake look like an ass to even more people!" Emmett laughed.

"Alright, if everyone is with me, then I will get the ball rolling." I looked around at my friends. They all shook their heads yes. I didn't miss the little smile that played on Rose's lips. "Good, this time tomorrow we will have at least started to get this situation taken care of. Rose, go call Angie and let her know what's up so she can be prepared."

"On it," Rose grabbed her phone and walked to her room.

"And I shall call Charlie." I winked at Alice, and she giggled. This was going to be a great phone call.

After three rings Charlie answered his phone with a rough voice. "Hello?"

"Is this Chief Swan?" Show respect Edward, show respect I reminded myself.

"Yes. Who the hell is this?" So Charlie wasn't into showing respect like I was. Oh well, this was too important for me to become a smartass.

"Chief Swan this is Edward Cullen, I spoke…" He cleared his throat and interrupted me.

"I remember you son. What do you need? Is Bella okay?" Worry was obvious in his voice.

"She is physically okay, but there are some things going on and I think you should know about it."

"What did that dickhead Jake do now? I swear to God that boy is going to be sitting in my jail before long if he doesn't leave my little girl alone!" I didn't doubt him. I thought maybe Jake should worry more about the gun Charlie carried instead of the jail though. Charlie didn't seem like a person that would think first and shot later when it came to Bella.

"Well, he has definitely broken the law…" I let that sit in the air for a moment, letting Charlie get pissed with Jake more.

"What did he do?" He basically yelled into the phone.

"He trashed your daughter's truck. The only problem is that we have no witnesses. He slashed the tires, beat the shit out of the body, smashed the windshield, cut wires and stole the battery." I said that all in one breath, I was good.

"He did what?" I imagined that Charlie was red in the face with rage at this point. "I bought that truck for her from him when she was sixteen. She loves that damn truck."

"Well, it's beyond repair sir. She has been walking or using the bus."

"What? Why is Rose letting her do that?" More anger from him. It was time to tell him the whole story of what was going on.

"Sir, it's not Roses' fault, but Bella moved out." I swallowed hard. I should probably worry about that gun shortly. "It's my fault."

"What did you do to my baby girl?" I swore I heard the sound of a gun being cocked.

"I'll tell you the whole story Charlie and what we are planning on doing to fix it, but you have to understand that I am sorry. I am trying to fix this." I pleaded.

"Just talk boy. Then we will decide if you will be fixing anything or if your father will be fixing a gunshot wound on you."

"Okay, so this is what happened…" I let it all pour out. I started from when we packed her up at Jake's apartment all the way until tonight's events. I even told him about Tanya and the booty call. I told him that I was a complete ass and how sorry I was. Charlie was quiet during the whole story with an occasional gruff or huff at some things I said. I told him the plan that we had come up with and how Bella would be sleeping here tomorrow night if everything went right.

There was an uncomfortable silence when I finished. I was sure that Charlie was thinking over everything that I said to him. I wanted to scream into the phone for him to talk, but I kept my mouth shut. Jasper, Emmett, and Alice were sitting in front of me staring at me.

"Okay Edward, I see that you are sorry about it all. It took balls for you to call me. That bastard Jake is going to be sorry that he ever messed with my daughter." I smiled wide. I saw Emmett pump his fist in the air in celebration. "I'll be at his garage at 9am. Call the tow truck."

"Thank you sir, we will see you there!" I heard a dial tone. I guess Charlie wasn't one for long goodbyes.

"He said yes?" Alice was bouncing in her seat.

"He said YES!" I smiled at her. Rose walked back into the room.

"Angie is on board." She announced.

"So we got everyone that we need. Let tomorrow begin!" Jasper clapped his hands together. I couldn't wait for 9am; it was going to be a day that Jake would never forget. I was not just getting him back for fucking my girlfriend, but for screwing with Bella, my friend. She might not know what we are doing, but it was all for her. She'd know soon enough.

**************************************************************

**The Next Morning **

At 8:30am the tow truck was hooking up Bella's truck.

"Someone was pissed when they did this." The guy shook his head at the damage.

"Yeah, but hopefully the damage that is about to be done to him will hurt a lot more." I smiled at him. His eyes grew wide.

"Hey, you are getting rid of the eye sore!" The old neighbor yelled to me.

"Yes sir, just like I said I would." I yelled back.

"Well, I hope the jerk that did it gets what he deserves. I yelled at him while he was doing it, and he just flicked me off." He started to walk away.

"Wait!" I yelled and ran after him. "You saw the guy that did this?"

"Yeah, tall Native American guy. Real asshole." He shrugged.

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"Because I didn't want him coming after me! He knew that I saw him!" The man said it like I should just know this bit of information.

"I need you to come with me. I need a witness." I grabbed his arm.

"No way, I like my quiet little life."

"I can promise you that he won't bother you. The brunette that owns this truck, her dad is a police chief. He will be at the garage that we are taking it to. I can promise you that the jerk that did this won't come anywhere near you. Please." I pleaded.

"Fine," He started to walk with me.

"Thank you!" I opened my phone and called Charlie to let him know I had a witness with me. He was thrilled to say the least.

We pulled into the garage that Jacob owned at exactly 9 am with the tow truck right behind us. I saw Charlie's squad car pull in right behind all of us. Emmett, Jasper, Rose and Alice all piled out of Emmett's truck. I told the old neighbor to stay in the car for a few minutes.

I watched as Charlie got out of his car, walk to the trunk and pull out a wheelchair. I didn't know anything about this, but whatever he wanted to do I was ready for. He pushed the chair to the passenger side and an older Native American man was placed in it. As Charlie pushed him towards me, I saw the smile on Charlie's face. He was up to something.

Embry came out of the shop to greet the small mob that forming outside. He looked at all of us and then at the truck. I could see him swallow. Fear was a good emotion for him right now.

"Embry, go get my son." The man in the wheelchair told him. Shit, Charlie brought Jake's daddy. This was going to be priceless.

"Billy, Jakes not here…" Billy cut him off.

"Don't lie to me Embry. I just spoke to him on the phone and he was here, not tell him to get out here now."

Embry turned around and walked back inside. A few moments later Jake walked out, wiping his hands on a rag.

"Wow, look at the crowd. What did I do to earn this party?" He had a smug look on his face. He looked over my shoulder and saw the truck. "Wow, what did Bells do to her truck?"

"Jake, don't play dumb. We know what happen to her truck." I growled. Charlie held up a hand to tell me to be quiet.

"Jacob, what is wrong with you?" Billy asked. "Did I not raise you better? What would possess you to act like such a demon?"

"I don't know what you are talking about! I told you what happen with Bella and me." Jake yelled.

"No Jake, you lied to me." Billy narrowed his eyes at Jake. "I know what really happened. Would you like to tell the truth or should I call an elders meeting? I don't believe that someone that is dishonest should ever be raised up to the elders' board."

Oh shit, Billy had true power. Charlie could shot or arrest him. Emmett, Jasper, and I could beat the shit out of him. But Billy could take away his birthright. Fantastic!

"Dad…" Jake thought for a moment. "Fine I lied. I was the one that cheated on her. She left me because she caught me with another woman."

"Jake, I thought I raised you better. Your mother would be disappointed with you." Billy shook his head. "Bella loved you Jake, how could you treat her so badly?"

"I…" Jake stopped. "I don't know."

"Well, I think that you need to head to the reservation this weekend. We need to talk." Jake nodded at his father.

"Now there is a little problem of this truck." Charlie stepped up. Jakes eyes grew wide.

"You can't prove I did that." He yelled.

"Actually we have a witness." I called out. I opened the door and my witness stepped out. Jakes mouth dropped. The neighbor sat back in the car and I shut the door.

"Fine I did it. I was pissed. I went to her apartment to talk to her, and followed her to your apartment. When she went back to her apartment I had it out with her truck." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"You mean like you did with the vase of roses you threw at her head that day?" Rose spat out.

"You not could have killed my daughter." Charlie took a deep breath. "She's never done anything to cause you to treat her this way Jake."

"I'm sorry. What can I do?" He pleaded. It was nice to see him in the hot spot for once.

"You can stay away from her." Charlie pulled out a piece of paper. "This is a restraining order. You can't contact her, or come within 1000 feet of her. If you do, you'll be sitting in county jail. That includes sending any of the boys or your friends to do your dirty work too. If I link it to you, you'll be in jail. "

Jake took the paper and read it over. His shoulders slumped.

"And you will be paying for this truck." Charlie growled

"What? That truck isn't worth anything!" Jake yelled.

"It was worth a lot to her Jake. Now she has no car. You will be writing me a check for fifteen hundred dollars right now. The exact price I paid you for it."

Jake didn't argue. He walked inside and came back out ten minutes later. In his hand was a check.

"It's for two thousand. I figured I owed her that much for the crap I did." He sighed.

"This better not bounce boy." Charlie handed me the check. Jake watched and growled at me. "Don't growl at him. He is the reason that she's getting a new car. At least someone is trying to take care of her. I am thankful for her friends."

"Alright Jake, we're done here. Follow Charlie's orders and I expect to see you home on Saturday." Billy looked at his son. Jacob nodded again. We all filed out to our cars, and I told the tow truck guy to leave the truck there.

"This was the best job I've been on in forever." He laughed. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

We all went back to the apartment, and I thanked the neighbor for his help. He told me he was happy to help and went home.

"Okay, part one has gone well. Jake has been taken down and we have money for a down payment on a car." Alice clapped.

"Yeah, but we're not done yet. You girls have lunch with Bella in a few hours. You have information to get." I reminded her.

It was already eleven and Bella's last morning class should be getting out now. Rose and Alice had already planned to meet her for lunch at eleven thirty. Their main job was to find out where Bella worked at night. We all knew it was a bar, but she never told them what bar it was. Angie let Rose know that Bella got off from the library at six, and then went to her waitressing job where she didn't get off until two. She hadn't even told Angie what the name of the bar was.

All Jasper, Emmett and I could do while the girls were at lunch was sit back and wait. This was their part, and if they couldn't get the information we'd have to find another way to. But we had to know where she worked to get the rest of the plan to work.

At one, Alice came stomping through the door. Rose threw her purse on the couch and flopped down, hard.

"I take it didn't go so well." Jasper stated the obvious.

"No asshole, it didn't." Rose snapped. "She was pissed that I was all up in her business. Can you tell me the last time she got pissed that I was in her business? I can tell you, it's when she was dating Jake. So that tells me wherever she is working is not somewhere I would approve of. This is ridiculous."

"She did take the phone though!" Alice beamed. "We convinced her that she needed it and that she could pay us back little by little."

I had bought her a new cell phone and added it to my plan. If Jake wasn't going to make sure that she was safe, I was. I knew she wouldn't take it from me, so Rose gave it to her. Well, I have a feeling she had to force it on her, but she did take it. That was all that mattered.

"It's okay Rose, we will figure something else out." I tried to calm her.

"Really Einstein? What do we do? Follow the bus that she takes to work? Or maybe ride it with her? None of that will be noticeable. She's being stubborn and it pisses me off." Emmett rubbed her shoulders.

"Calm down baby. I might be able to help." Rose snapped her head to look at him. "I might know a guy…"

"Jenks," Alice yelled. "Of course, he can get any information we need."

"Good use of those three brain cells you still have Emmett! Now we need to get as much info on her as possible for him to use." I looked at Rose. "So what are her stats so we can tell him?"

"What do you mean her stats? You mean like 36-30-32?" She looked confused?

"Umm…" I held in the laugh that was threatening to let loose. "Her name, birthday, social if possible."

Rose rattled it all off, including the social as if she were talking about herself. She knew everything about Bella.

One call to Jenks was all it took. Bella was working at a dump of a bar downtown called the 'The Tank'. It was known for its pervert crowd. There were dancers as well as waitresses.

"Jasper, you don't think she'd be a dancer do you?" Rose looked at her brother wide eyed.

"Hell no, and if she is, I'll kick her ass." He growled.

At seven, I put my shoes on getting ready to go get Bella. This part of the plan was all on me. It was my fault that she left and it was up to me to bring her back. She had to know what I was sorry and that she was wanted back here.

"Okay bro, don't screw it up!" Emmett slapped my back.

"I'll do my best. Hopefully she'll listen to me." I sighed. I walked out the door and to my car. Silently I was praying that she would listen to reason and come with me. Reality told me that I was going to have to fight her.

I arrived at the bar around 8pm and it was already starting to get crowded. There were girls on stage, and thankfully none of them were Bella. I took a seat in the back of the bar so that I couldn't be seen by her. I watched for her for twenty minutes before I found her.

She was serving a table full of business men that obviously were celebrating a good week. She had on short shorts, and a tank top that said 'The Tank'. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she actually had makeup on. She was wearing very high heels, and looked miserable. She passed out the drinks to the table, and slapped the hand of one of the men who grabbed her ass. It took everything in me not to kick his ass. I just had to remind myself that I would get her out of here if I behaved.

"What can I get you honey?" A red head asked me as she pushed her amply breast into my face.

"I actually want to talk to the brunette down there." I pointed to Bella. The red head huffed at me.

"Why? She's busy; surely I could make you happy." She smiled at me.

"No, not really, I need to talk to her." I glared at her. She finally took the hint and sighed.

"I'll see what I can do." She huffed at me again. I handed her 20 dollars and suddenly she was more open to getting Bella for me.

I waited another twenty minutes, but finally Bella showed up at my lone table.

"What are you doing here Edward?" She glared at me.

"I could ask you the same thing." I raised a brow at her.

"I am working right now. How did you know I was here? Did you follow me?"

"No, but I have my ways. I brought you something." I pushed the restraining order to her.

She read it, and I saw tears pouring down her cheeks. "So he can't harass me anymore?"

"Nope sweetie, he can't have anything to do with you unless you deem it okay." I smiled at her and she returned it. It was the first smile she had given me in weeks. "That's great. How did you do this?"

"Your dad did this." I braced myself for her fury.

"You called my dad?" She looked shocked, but not mad.

"Yeah, it was time for him to get involved Bella. I know you can take care of yourself and all, but you needed help." I was pleading with her not to be mad without saying those words.

"You are right. Jake was getting out of hand. My truck was the finally straw for me." She wiped her tears.

"Speaking of which, your dad, Billy, me and the rest of your friends visited Jake this morning." I grinned at her. Her jaw dropped. "We have a present for you."

I handed her the check that Jake wrote. "Your dad told him fifteen hundred but Jake gave us two thousand. He said that you deserve it after everything he has done. He has to go meet with his dad tomorrow about it all too. I'd say that Jakey is in some hot water."

"Thank you Edward. Thank you." She threw her arms around my neck, but as soon as she did she let go. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"You shouldn't have hugged me? Why?" That was an odd thought for her to have.

"I'm sure Tanya wouldn't appreciate it." Bella stared at the floor.

"Bella, we need to talk about that. It wasn't what you thought it was." She looked at me confused.

"You don't owe me an explanation Edward…"

"No, I do. What you saw that day wasn't what it looked like." I lifted her chin. "Well, it was partly what you thought it was. She was there for a booty call. But I didn't want her back. I had gone to your apartment to talk to you, but when I saw you I chickened out. You looked so sad and tired. I knew it was my fault for being such a dick, so I left. I was mad at myself and really just wanted some sort of release, so I called Tanya for that release."

Bella nodded her head in understanding.

"She came over, and we were going to, then you knocked on the door. As soon as I saw you, I couldn't touch her again. I remember what she had done not only to me, but to you too. After you left, I made her leave. She was pissed, but I was more pissed. I couldn't believe that I was going to do that with her. I was going to use her to make myself feel better. No one, including Tanya deserves that."

"I am glad you realized that Edward. Not just for her, but for you too. You would have felt guilty afterwards, and it won't have helped in the end." She smiled at me and my heart swelled.

"BELLA," A loud, angry voice yelled. I saw her roll her eyes, and then look up.

"Yes Felix," she asked.

"I am not paying you to sit here and chat it up with your buddy. Get your ass on the floor." He pointed to the other customers. I saw Victoria standing a few feet away smirking. She must have told that I wanted to talk specifically to Bella.

"Alright, alright Felix, don't throw a tantrum." She stood up and tucked the check into the top of her bra. "I'll talk to you later Edward, I have to go deal with customers."

"Actually Bella, I don't think that's going to work." She looked at me, hurt instantly covered her face. She thought I was telling her I wasn't going to be around anymore. "No, it's nothing bad Bella."

"Oh, what do you mean then?" She looked at me and back at Felix who was growing more and more impatient.

"We are leaving here, now." I stood up and offered her my arm.

"I can't leave Edward. I have to save up money…." She started to explain but I quickly cut her off.

"No, Bella you don't have to save up for anything. You have the money for a used car or a down payment even. Also, now that you and I have everything worked out, there is no reason for you to try to get your own place. It's time to go home to Rose and Alice." I smiled at her and motioned with my head for her to come on.

"Bella, I don't know what the hell is going on, but you need to get your ass back to work NOW!" Felix screamed at her again.

"No, I don't think that I do Felix." She took my arm. "I think I quit."

"You think? You better be damned sure, because I won't be hiring you back."

"Okay, I am sure that I quit." We walked out of the bar and to my car. As soon as she sat down in the car, I could see that reality set in.

"Oh God Edward, what about Angie and Ben? My stuff is there, and they know nothing about this…" Her words were fast and jumbled.

"It's okay Bella, Rose talked to Angie. Angie packed your stuff and it's already at the apartment." I laughed.

"Gee, you guys were sure of yourselves." She crossed her arms and acted annoyed. "What if I LIKED how things were?"

"Well, then I guess we would have put your stuff back and accepted defeat. But you still would have gotten your money from Jake."

She playfully glared at me and then laughed. "I can't believe you called Charlie."

"I can't believe he brought Jake's dad." I shook my head at the whole situation this morning; it was still hilarious to me. "That was all Charlie's idea."

"I am amazed that Billy believed me over Jake."

"I don't know what changed his mind, but Jake admitted everything to him. So now Billy has no reason to doubt you." She smiled; I knew that it had hurt her to think that Billy thought so little of her.

"Well, Miss Swan; it's time you go home and see your friends."

**A/N- See, he is starting to do better. No there is no love affair right now, but there are trust issues .Got to do the whole friends before being lovers thing and all that. ******


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- Sorry this took so long, me and this chapter have been fighting like dogs. This is the second version. My first had them talking in her room, but I decided that it didn't work. They needed to go some place that they didn't have history for either or them for this conversation. Also, Maunders took the time to Email me after her annoymous email, and I completely understand what she was saying now. ALthought I don't agree that my story is just like the rest, I see where she was coming from. So thank you for your constructive words. I will remember them. :) **

**I am nominated at the Indies along with 29879028709 other stories under the human catagory. It's an honor and all, but I want the damn trophy. ::wink:: Just kidding. **

**Also, I am going to take down Leave It In Montana, and rewrite it. It's poor quality and needs to be fixed. I have a beta now, and I am going to have her help. Hehehehe......**

**Thanks AnUnbrokenHorse for the help! You rock.**

Cheaters Chapter 10

EPOV

We drove towards the apartment in silence. It had been five minutes since we left the bar, and she was already smiling bright. It must have been a relief for her to be out of there and headed back home to Rose and Alice.

My phone buzzed alerting me that I had a text message.

_**Got my bitch, bitch?-Rose **_

_**Yes, and she is glad to go home. –E**_

_**Good. We're going out for the night. You 2 need to talk. –Rose **_

_**Okay?-E**_

_**Don't worry Edward, she won't bite. But work your shit out.-Rose **_

_**Okay, you don't have to leave. I will take her to the pier to talk. Neutral territory. -Edward **_

"Umm…Bella?" I rubbed the back of my neck. I wondered how she was going to take this. Maybe she was really ready to see Rose. Maybe she didn't want to talk to me.

"What's up Edward?" She turned her thousand watt smile to me. It was gorgeous and I returned it.

"Rose just sent me a text message. She thinks that we need time to talk, so they are going out."

"Okay? That seems odd. Are you okay with that?" She asked.

"Sure. I mean we have things to talk about and all. Are you okay with it?" _Please be okay with it_.

"That's fine." She blushed slightly. "But let's get something to eat first. I didn't get dinner in between the library and the bar."

"How were you planning on lasting all night Bella?" I asked in a disapproving tone.

"They have snack foods at the bar. I was going to eat on my break, _Dad_." Her tone was sarcastic.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say. What would you like?" Now wasn't the time to pick a fight. She was a grown woman and if she felt that skipping dinner was fine, then I wasn't going to question her.

"Well, I don't want to go inside anywhere dressed like that." She waved her hand over her body and I couldn't help but look. Her shorts were short enough to show almost all of her long creamy white legs and the tank top definitely showed off her ample breasts.

"No, I guess not. How about if we get some take out, and then head to the pier to eat? It's so rare that it's so nice out this time at night. I have a hoodie in the back if that would make you feel better. "I reached behind my seat and pulled out the black hoodie I kept in my car. She took it and pulled it over her head. It was huge on her, but looked damn sexy. It looked damn sexy mainly because it was my clothes on her.

"This works. Let's get some Chinese food. I would kill for some General TSO Chicken." She licked her lips. I watched closely as she licked her upper lip hungrily.

"What the lady wants, the lady gets." I winked at her and she blushed again. I wondered how many times I could get her to do that in one night.

We drove to the local place that we both agreed had the best food in Seattle. After ordering, we stood to the side and waited for our order to be called out. I watched as the cashier eyed Bella up and down. He had a slight smile on his lips when she turned around to look at some pictures behind us. I took the moment to glare at him. I wanted him to know that Bella was not to be stared at like that; at least not by anyone but me.

Once our order was called, I put my hand around her waist, gathered our bag and walked out. I was pissed that even after I glared at the asshole, he continued to stare at her. But I guess since she was wearing next to nothing, it was hard not to stare.

Instead of getting in the car, we walked to the pier just down from the restaurant. After a few minutes we found a spot that was clean and well lit. We sat down, sorted out the food and ate quietly. She dug into her chicken quickly with a moan of satisfaction. It must have been much better than the snack food she was planning on eating for dinner, I smirked to myself.

"This is so good. No one makes it like they do," she used the chop sticks dig out another piece.

"I agree." I took a mouthful of noodles into my mouth. I had to talk to her, but I wasn't sure how to start this. Part of me wanted to yell and scream at her still, but part of me wanted to let it all go. I knew that if we didn't talk about what happened we would never have a chance of being more than just acquaintances.

"So tell me how you feel about everything Edward. I'm a big girl, give to me." She didn't look up, just continued to dig for chicken.

"I'm pissed with you Bella." I answered honestly. "And I am pissed with our friends who think that you do no wrong."

She didn't respond with words, instead she just nodded an understanding. She sighed and put her food down.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "You have every right to be pissed at me."

"I understand that, and I understand your reasons why you didn't tell me right away. I don't agree with them, but I understand why you felt that way. But 'sorry' really doesn't work for me right now." It was the first time that I really was one hundred percent honest about everything. Her being sorry wasn't enough for me.

"I was wrong Edward. I was wrong. I screwed up. I shouldn't have kept my mouth shut. But really how should I have told you? What would you have done in my situation? Would you have called Jake out immediately? Would you have just blurted it out?" Bella was getting frustrated. Her hands were waving in the air as she talked. Tears were pouring down her face, but I was sure that was more of frustration and anger rather than sadness.

"I don't know how I would have handled it Bella." I admitted. "You are right on that. I probably would have been just as scared to tell you. But we could play what _'ifs'_ all day. I don't know how I would have handled it, but I know that I don't like how you handled it." I tried to keep my voice leveled. I didn't want to yell at her, but I was angry.

Again she just nodded. She picked back up her food and started to eat again.

"I am mad the most because I lost trust in you Bella." I finally told her. I sighed and set my food down and signaled for her to do the same. She did, and then I took her hand.

"Bella, that Sunday we spent together, I felt a real connection with you. I wanted to get to know you. Then everything happened, and I didn't know what to think anymore. The night I told you to get out of my car, I was furious. I didn't want to yell at you, but I was getting to that point. I was pissed with you and Tanya. I didn't know what to do.

"Tanya came over the next day to talk it out, but instead I told her that I wanted nothing to do with her anymore. We both admitted that we didn't love each other and that was it."

"So what about the day I came over." She didn't make eye contact.

"I told you Bella, I was in need of some release, and that was the first that came to mind. I know I was thinking with my dick and not my brain, but that's how it was. I went to the apartment to see you, but when I did, I chickened out." I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn't want to dig all this up again. "So I acted like a fourteen year old boy and called for some easy lay. I thought it could make me feel better. But instead when you showed up, I felt like I was slapped with reality across the face. Tanya was not going to make things better. Going through with what I had planned would have made things worse. I don't even know if I would have been able to go through with it to tell you the truth. Even before you knocked, I was starting to question my sanity."

"Why all the drama Edward? Why not just tell me all of this before? Why didn't you tell me that you were pissed? Wouldn't it have been easier to hash all this out than what has been going on for the past month and half?" They were all valid questions. If I had just talked to her, then none of this would have happened.

"Why didn't you talk to me? Why didn't you force me to talk to you?" I pressured her. "It's not like you were breaking my door down to talk either. Instead of letting me explain the Tanya thing, you ran off and moved out! How is that facing the situation?"

"Because I thought you needed time to cool off. I figured that once you were ready that you would talk to me, and after awhile I assumed that you didn't want to talk to me about it. I assumed that you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore." She sighed. "Then the day you came over, I was so hopeful, but you left. I got pissed. I grabbed my keys and was determined to go to your house to let you know that you were an asshole. But then Tanya was there and I knew that I couldn't do it anymore. If you two were back together, I couldn't be around. I couldn't be around her anymore. Not only had she slept with Jake, but she cheated on you! I was furious. I decided that I just needed to move on from the whole situation, so moving out seemed like the first step."

"Ugh!" I growled. "I can't believe I let this get so out of hand. There is no reason for any of this to happen!"

"Edward, it's not just your fault…" She tried to sooth me. "I screwed up too. I should have been honest with you. I should have called Tanya out the moment I knew it was her. I shouldn't have been so damn selfish that Sunday. I should have just told you that day."

"I am glad that we had Sunday together Bella. I really enjoyed it." I released her hands. I went back to eating my noodles and thinking. She seemed to be doing the same.

"So where do we go from here Edward? Can we ever be friends again? Will you ever trust me again?" There was a bit of pleading in her voice. I was hurting, but so was she.

"I want to trust you again, Bella, I really do. I don't know how to, but I want to. We are just going to have to take it day by day." She nodded to agree.

"I hurt you Edward, I know that. But you hurt me too. You didn't give me a chance to talk about what happened. You didn't give me a chance to tell you anything. Then you treated me like a disease that had to be avoided. I am so tired of all of it. I just want everything back to normal at this point." Bella wasn't looking at me as she said this. She had her head turned. With the cracking of her voice, I assumed that it was because she was trying to hide the fact that she was crying.

"Please don't cry Bella. I know that this is all crap, but please don't cry." I hated when girls cried, it drove me nuts. The whole caveman gene came out and I wanted to make it all better.

"I'm sorry." She wiped her tears. "It's just been such a rough week. I am tired, relieved, overwhelmed and so much more."

"I think you are exhausted Bella." I pulled her close to me so she could rest her head on my shoulder. That seemed to cause the tears to flow even more.

"I am so _-hiccup- _sorry!" She cried. "I am such a _–hiccup-_ horrible person. _Hiccup._ I don't blame you _–hiccup-_ for hating me. I hate me." She turned her head into the crook of my neck and sobbed.

"I don't hate you Bella. I really don't. The truth is, I was mainly pissed about all of this because I was beginning to wonder if there could be more between us. Then I felt that you broke my trust, and I was sent into a tail spin." I admitted softly. She hiccupped a few more times and finally wiped her tears.

With her eyes still glassy from her tears she looked up at me.

"More?" Her voice was shaky. "You thought there could be more between us than just friends?"

"I know it was stupid. I mean I was just assuming…" she stopped my rant by putting her fingers to my lips.

"I felt the same way. I really haven't connected with anyone the way I connected with you."

I exhaled loudly. At least I wasn't the only one to feel the connection.

"Well, right now Bella, I have nothing to give. I am still trying to move on from this whole fucked up Tanya mess, and I don't know how to trust you." It hurt to admit it, but jumping into a relationship with her would be wrong right now. It wouldn't work.

"I understand. And frankly, I am still trying to find myself after the whole Jacob issue. I have never imagined a life that didn't include him and I don't know where to go from here. I see now that it was stupid for me to center my life on him, but I did, and now he is gone. I'm pretty well lost." She chewed on her lip as she admitted this.

"Well, I think that you should figure that out before you date anyone. It's not fair to the next guy if you aren't sure what is going on in your head."

We sat quietly for what seemed forever. She still had tears in her eyes, but she had calmed down. I would give anything to be able to read her thoughts right now.

"I think we should be friends right now Bella." I broke the silence.

"I agree. Friends now, and if anything grows from that we will talk about it then." She wiped the tears out of her eyes.

We cleaned up our mess and headed back to the car. She crawled in passenger seat and laid her head back. She was clearly exhausted and needed to sleep. Before I turned out of the parking lot, she was starting to doze off.

During the ride to her apartment, she snoozed peacefully next to me. It took everything in me not reach over and rub my thumb across her cheek. She sighed once or twice in her sleep, and it sounded like a relieved sigh.

As I pulled into a spot at the complex, I heard her whisper my name followed by a small sigh; I couldn't help but smile. I was determined to take this slow, but it was going to be hard with her. Every part of me wanted to claim her, but we both had too much baggage to work out. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long for us to do that, and we could be together. For the first time I could imagine a girl in a white dress coming to me down a long aisle. I could see children playing in the yard. But I wouldn't be able to do that if we didn't get things taken care of.

I carried Bella to her apartment, where everyone was sitting inside watching a movie. Alice quickly rushed to Bella's room and prepped the bed for her. I laid her down gently and kissed her forehead.

"Night Bella." I walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind me.

**BPOV **

I woke up the next morning confused and annoyed. I hated falling asleep in one place and waking in another. It was a huge pet peeve. I tried to remember the night before. Oh yeah, Edward. He came and got me from the bar. We talked and talked. He wants more from me than friendship, but he can't trust me. I want more from him, but I don't know if I am capable of moving on from Jacob at all. I am so screwed up.

I pulled myself from my bed and headed down the hall to the living room. Alice was already in the kitchen making omelets and Rose was reading the paper while drinking her coffee.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Alice cocked her eyebrow at me and giggled.

"Mmm…" I was trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. "I need coffee, strong and black."

Rose stood up and poured me a cup. Once she handed it to me I inhaled deeply. It smelled fantastic. Angie and Ben were great people, but they were Mormons so there was no coffee in their house. I thought I was going to lose my mind in the weeks that I was there. Nothing said home like the coffee here.

"So are you back for good, or do I have to chase you around Seattle again?" Rose asked with clear annoyance in her voice.

"I'm sorry I ran away Rose. It was stupid and childish. I shouldn't have." She rolled her eyes at me.

"Of course it was. Now that we have that out of the way, what should we do for the day?" She started to eat the omelet that Alice had put in front of her.

"I don't know. It's Saturday, so it's free for me." I shrugged. "Wait, I have an idea…"

They both looked expectantly at me. I had build courage before I could actually say the words.

"I need change. Lots and lots of change! Starting with my hair! I want to go to the spa, spend the day getting taken care of and get a haircut. Then I'd like to go shopping. I am tired of being the Bella that was with Jake. I want to try to find a new Bella."

Alice stood in front of me bouncing like she was going to explode. Rose just smiled and nodded.

Before I knew what was happening, Alice threw her arms around me and squealed.

"We are going to have so much fun! I can't wait! I will call the spa. I have friends there so getting in shouldn't be an issue!" She bounced down the hallway to her room, I assumed to make her calls.

"Alright Swan, the little one is gone, so spill about last night." Rose always knew when I was hiding things.

"Well, we talked." I took a sip of the coffee. As soon as set the cup down Rose snatched it. "ROOOOSSSEEE!" I whined. "Give it BACK!"

"Not until you talk Swan. You want coffee? Then talk! What happen with you and the other Cullen brother last night?" She held the coffee close enough so I could smell it, but just out of my reach.

"We talked. I apologized for not telling him. He apologized for not talking to me. He admitted that he felt more for me than friendship and that was the main reason he was pissed. He doesn't know how to trust me. So we are working on it."

"Wait, more than friends?" She slid the coffee back to me. I greedily took it and held it tightly.

"Yes. And I admitted I felt the same. But we both have a lot of things to work through before we can do anything about it. I was with Jake for so long, and then he did what he did, I don't know that I will be able to trust Edward because of that experience. He can't trust me because I hid the thing about Tanya. I have to find out who I am and he has to work his things out too. "I drank the coffee.

"So what are you going to do?"

"We are going to be friends. I am going to figure out what I want in life. Starting with today at the spa, and spending time with my friends. I am also thinking of seeking some therapy. I think that what you said about emotional abuse maybe correct. I won't blame all my esteem issues on Jake, but he didn't help me. I am going to do my thing, and Edward will do his. If we end up together at the end of the day then fine. If not, then that's how it works." Rose just stared at me with her mouth a gaped.

"You are so calm about this! I am so proud of you! I think that focusing on you is the best idea." Rose snagged me in a hug.

"Oh but you and I have to talk about something else. Although I love the fact that you will defend me to your death, I think that you gave him too hard of a time." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Just hear me out Rose. I screwed up. I should have told him. He didn't talk to me because he was hurting. He admits that it was stupid. But I need you to apologize for how you treated him."

"What? Hell no, I will not!" She yelled at me. "He deserved it!"

"No Rose he didn't. He lost a lot in this whole situation too, and he needed his friends. Because you guys were all rallying around me, he didn't get the support he should have. I think you all should apologize to him. He is your friend too."

"Ugh! I hate when you are right! I hate it!" She growled. "Fine I will talk to Emmett and Jasper. You are right; we did rally around you and not even let him talk it out. But I'm not pleading for forgiveness!"

I laughed loudly.

"I would never expect you to Rose!" I grabbed my best friend and hugged her tightly. "I love you!"

"I love you too, Swan. But you are a pain in the ass too much!" She winked to let me know she was playing. But she was right, lately I had been a huge pain in the ass, and I was determined to change that.

Alice came bouncing out of her room, with a huge smile on her face.

"Okay ladies, let's go! The spa is waiting for us!" She sang.

I took in the last of the coffee.

"Five minutes Alice." I ran to the bedroom to dress, then to brush my teeth and hair. I took off to living room where they were waiting. "Let's do this!"

**Alrighty my pretties, let me know.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N- yep, I suck. I suck because it took forever and day to update the story. I have a millioin excuses, but I'll spare you. Main issue was that I had writers block. Finally the chapter came to me in the shower the other morning and I typed it out as fast as my hands could fly. Thanks for your patience. Again, sorry I suck. **

**Thanks to my super Beta for getting this back to me so quick and for doing a great job! AnUnbrokenHorse aka RushtonElf freaking rocks my socks off. **

**Happy reading. Remember, i hate sad stories so I promise HEA. **

**If you are bored and looking for things to read let me suggest some: **

**_Blood Moon_- AU story. Really good, but no HEA so far. She says it will be good at the end, and I am still waiting, but its still really good and orginal. **

**_Emancipatin Proclaimation_- If you haven't read this, then go read it after this chapter. What a freaking amazing damn story. I freaking love it. She updates a lot too. **

**_Dark Salvation_- For the pervert in us all. Nuff said.**

Cheaters

Chapter Eleven- Friends

**BPOV **

"That's disgusting Emmett!" Alice squealed at her oversized kid-minded brother. Emmett had to prove that he could in fact put six full sized doughnuts in his mouth. He did it, but it wasn't pretty. Especially once he started to cough and spit them out.

"Bro, that's so gross. Rose, how do you put up with this crap?" Edward laughed.

"What can I say, what he lacks in intelligence he makes up for in his bed time performances." She winked and Edward made a gagging sound. She was never shy about sex or letting everyone know how good Emmett was in bed. It made me intensely jealous.

Not that I wanted Emmett, because I have no interest in him. But I missed sex. I missed having sex with someone that I loved and loved me back. I missed good sex. The last couple months with Jacob, the sex had grown boring and routine. He blamed it on his work schedule, but now I knew it was because he was getting it elsewhere.

It had been three weeks since the night that Edward and I talked. I decided that some major changes had to be made in my life and I was damn well going to do it. I was tired of mourning the death of my relationship with Jacob. I was tired of feeling guilty over not telling Edward about Tanya. I was tired of the old Bella, so I made a new one.

The day at the spa with Alice and Rose was wonderful. We had the full package, which included a bikini wax for me. I had never had one done, so I figured it was something to start doing. It hurt like hell, but I was happy that I did it. It's something I would have never done before.

I also cut the long, heavy brown hair that Jake told me he loved so much. My hair had touched midback, but now was hitting right below my shoulders. After a couple highlights and layers, I looked like a much different person. Rose kept telling me how much she loved it, and Alice wouldn't keep her hands out of it. I felt so different. Who knew that a hair cut could make you feel so different?

I knew that it was a way of letting Jake go. If I was still with him I would have never dreamed of cutting off my hair. He would have lost it if I had. He had a thing about long, long hair and never made a secret about it. Nope, Jake would not be happy about this, and that made me very happy.

Alice and I went shopping one afternoon while everyone else was at work. We spent hours trying on clothes while giggling like school girls. My normal jeans, sneakers and t-shirts were being replaced with "grown-up clothes", as Alice put it. My new jeans were made to fit in a sexier manner. My t-shirts were replaced with blouses, tops and dresses. She even talked me into some really sexy high heeled boots. My sneakers were replaced by heels, flats, slip ons, sandals. We went back to the apartment and spent two hours putting it all away.

In short, I looked like a new Bella. It helped me to feel different somewhat, but deep down I was still having the doubts about all of this. I wanted so badly to feel good about myself again. I wanted to let go of everything that had happen. Not just Jake, but my mom and Phil.

After a long talk with Jasper I decided that I should start seeing a therapist. Maybe talking about everything would help me to move on with my life and not hold onto the past so much.

"Bella, you are on a different planet right now?" Emmett waved his hand in front of my face. As I was brought out of my trance I could feel the blush creeping up my face.

"Sorry Emmett. The doughnut trick was amazing. Gross, but amazing." He winked at me playfully and I just shook my head. Emmett would always be a kid at heart.

"What should we do tonight? It's Saturday, and I want to go out!" Rose declared. We hadn't been out in a few days, so even I was longing for some loud music and cold beer.

"I say we just go to the bar down the street and hang out. We can shoot pool, throw darts, drink and relax." Jasper suggested.

The bar had been a good hang out for us. We had avoided the clubs since the whole Jake scene. I wasn't sad one bit that I hadn't run into Jake at a club again. I was worried about the day that I did. Would he talk to me? Or would he abide by the order and stay away?

"No, no more of that damn bar. I am sick of it! I want to dance. Let's hit the club!" Rose demanded. I should have known that the dancing queen would eventually want to hit the club again.

"Ugh, fine let's dance." I groaned. Truth be told I wanted to dance, I was just afraid of running into Jake or Tanya there. But I could tell that my friends really wanted to go out there again, so I was going to suck it up and drive on.

We made our plans, and everyone headed off in their own direction to get ready for the night. I stayed on the couch staring out into nowhere. Edward came and took the seat beside me.

"What's wrong Bella?" He draped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. I laid my head in the crook of his neck and took a deep breath. We weren't together as a couple, but that didn't mean that he couldn't comfort me more than anyone else. I desperately wanted to kiss him, and for him to hold me tighter, but I knew that our plan was for the best.

"Nothing really," I didn't lift my head. "Well, except that I am worried about who might be at the club tonight."

"Bella, there is nothing to worry about. Jake was ordered to stay away." He ran his fingers through my hair.

"I know, I know. But seeing him will still be hard for me. What if Tanya is there?" His body instantly stiffened at that comment.

"I doubt she would be. That club isn't her favorite. She only went there because we were all going." It was now my turn to make him feel better.

"You're right. I am just worrying about nothing." I started to pull away from him, but he pulled me back.

"It's not '_nothing_' if it bothers you. I know that you are nervous, but we will be there with you." His kissed my temple. "_I'll _be there with you."

"Thank you Edward." I sighed. I really did appreciate his words, they meant a lot to me.

"Have I told you that I love your new hair cut? What made you do it?" He gave me his panty dropping grin.

"Um, well, Jake had this thing about my long hair. He never wanted me to cut it because he wanted it to be as long as possible. So cutting it just felt right. I hated how long it was. I could barely do anything with it anymore, and it gave me a headache. Plus, it was just another way to get rid of him."

"Well, then I must say that I absolutely adore, and love your hair cut." I giggled at his confession. He was such a charmer.

"Thank you."

"What about the other things?" He kept playing with my hair. "Alice took you shopping for clothes and Jasper told me that you are possibly going to talk to someone about everything."

I groaned. Why would Jasper tell him something like that? It was private.

"Bells don't be mad at Jasper. It was a passing conversation and I got more from it than he expected me to."

"I'm not mad. I just…" I stopped. "Okay, yes I am mad that he said anything. But I will get over it. I let Alice update my wardrobe because it needed it, badly. And yes I am thinking of going to therapy. I had a long talk with Jasper about everything that has happened, and he suggested that I see a therapist about it all. Someone that has an unbiased opinion, so that I can see all the sides of the issues I am trying to deal with."

"I am happy that things are getting better for you Bella, but I don't want you to forget one thing." He paused for a moment and looked at me. "I don't want you to forget that I am here for you too, and if you need a friend, all you have to do is tell me."

My heart skipped a beat and it took everything in me not to start crying right there. I had been such a huge bag of water over the past few weeks, crying had become second nature to me. Instead I smiled at him and sighed.

"Thank you Edward. I will always need your friendship." I leaned in and kissed his cheek softly.

"Okay, get ready to go. I'll stay with you at the club tonight, so there isn't anything to worry about."

We stood up and stretched. He excused himself and headed to his house to get ready. Alice had my clothes already picked out for me, and was ready for me in my bathroom to do my hair. After an hour I was ready.

Alice decided to go easy on me tonight, and not force me into a dress or skirt. I got to wear my skinny jeans and a halter top. Of course walking out of the house in anything other than heels wasn't about to happen so we compromised and I wore my high heeled boots. They were easier for me to walk in and were more comfortable.

We met the guys in the living room. They all looked handsome, but my eyes were focus on the bronzed haired God standing in the living room. Edward was wearing his dark wash jeans, and a black button down shirt. He could wear just about anything and be sexy, but he really looked like sex on legs tonight. His crooked grin made my heart flutter a bit.

"Alright beetches, let's go." Rose called out. We filed out of the apartment, and headed to the cars. Again Edward and I were told to ride in the Volvo while the other four rode together. I wasn't so upset about it this time since Tanya wasn't part of the package now.

We joked and laughed all the way to the club. I had grabbed a hold of his IPod, which apparently was a huge no-no. But I flipped through the playlist anyways. I made fun of him mercilessly when I saw Jesse McCartney on one of his lists. He defended himself by saying that it was one that Tanya insisted on listening to in the car, but I continued to snicker and giggle at him the rest of the ride.

When we reached the club, the other four were already headed to the door. Rose pushed out her chest and smiled seductively at the bouncer. He looked like he was going to melt under her smile. He raised the rope and motioned us in; it was good to be friends with a sex goddess.

The music was loud, and we kept the beer flowing between the six of us. Rose and Alice pulled me out on the floor a few times to dance. We had several male admirers wanting to join us, but we tried be nice at turning them away. Even though Edward and I weren't together, I didn't want to dance with anyone else.

Rose ordered us a round of beer, and we all drank it down quickly which led to another round, and another, then another. We had, had five rounds before I even realized how drunk I was. I watched as Rose and Allie danced on the floor. They were so confident in their movements out there. I couldn't help but be jealous of them. Rose must have seen me watching her, because she marched up to me, grabbed my hand and dragged me out on the dance floor.

"Time to dance bitch," she laughed.

As we danced several guys came up to request us to be their partner. Each was turned down and then ignored. It wasn't until the third song that someone didn't take no as an answer. I felt an arm snake around my waist and breath on my neck.

"Hey, back of buddy. This is my personal space and I don't want to share it with you." He held me tightly so that I couldn't turn around and look at him.

"But honey, last time you were all ready for me to take you home. How about we pick up where we left off?" A deep voice whispered in my ear. I felt my body tense immediately.

"James?" I tried to turn my neck to make sure it was who I thought it was. "Is that you?"

"Yes sweetheart, it sure is. Do you normally go out and try to get someone to take you home?" He laughed.

"No." I blushed from head to toe. I had to get out of this position and quickly. "Look James, I am not interested. I am here with some people and I don't…"

"Oh now Bella, don't be shy. I know you want me." He turned me around to look at him. He held my hips tightly. "Let's just skip all this talk and head out."

He leaned down and licked my neck. Seriously, he licked my neck. That was one of the most disgusting things that I had ever experienced.

"Look James, I'm not kidding. Let go of me, now." My voice was stern and strong. He had to know that I was serious.

"Come on Bella…" He was interrupted by another male's voice.

"I think my girl asked you to step away." Edward was standing next to us. He had two shots in his hands and a scowl on his face.

"Your girl?" James sneered. "So you were just being a tease before?"

"I…" I didn't know what to say. I was embarrassed. I wasn't being a tease last time, but I was no longer interested in James.

"No she wasn't," Edward spat. "She wasn't with anyone last time, and this time she is. So there is a difference. Now back off."

James let go, and I let out a sigh of relief. James stomped off, and Edward handed me the shot.

"I figured that after that you would need a shot of vodka." He gave me his crooked grin.

"Thank you," I nodded. "And thank you for saving me there. He was getting a little pissy."

Edward leaned down into my ear and whispered to me.

"Of course he was getting pissy Bella, you look stunning. I can't blame him one bit. But I was tempted to rip his arm off if he didn't remove his arms from you."

I shivered as he spoke. Not just his words, but his tone. I looked up at him and smiled. He gave me a wink and downed his own shot.

"Now, Bella, would you like to dance with me?" He asked.

"Of course, I would. " I licked my lips then bit the bottom one. He was definitely easy on the eyes and the thoughts of his hands roaming me while we danced made me ache just a bit. The club was already hot, and with his standing so close to me, I was praying that I didn't pass out.

He wrapped one arm around my waist and the other hand gently rubbed down my arm. His body was so close that I could feel his heart beat against my own body. He leaned his head down, and rested his forehead on mine. He suddenly became Mr. Handsy in a matter of drinks. His hands wondered from my back to ass and back up my head, running his fingers through my hair.

"I love the hair cut Bella. I love that you literally cut Jacob out of your life, so to say," he whispered in my ear. "I also love how tight these jeans are on your ass."

It was hard for me not to giggle at him. I had a lot to drink already too, and the comment was cute. But I didn't want to embarrass him, so I just complimented him back.

"I love how your jeans look on your ass too. But I really love how they show off your cock." Yes, dirty talking Bella was coming out to play.

I could see he was speechless for a moment. I guess he didn't realize that I could be so forward. But after years with Jake, I had dirty talk down.

"What's wrong Edward, didn't know that I was checking out your junk or didn't think I would say it." I licked my lips slowly.

"Umm….." he stumbled with his words. "Both?"

I threw my head back and laughed. As I did this he took the chance to start to kiss on my neck. His lips were warm, and soft. I desperately wanted them all over me immediately. Reality was slowly starting to creep back into this.

"Edward, wait. You can't do this." I pushed him a little to get his attention. "You aren't ready for this yet Edward. Remember we talked about this? You want to take all of this really slow."

He groaned. "I know Bella, but when I am with you, slow is the last thing I want to do."

"Trust me, I know. My body is in on fire and all you did was grope and kiss me." I gave him a teasing grin. "But taking things slow means we have to stop this now."

"Fine," he pouted.

"I am going to the bathroom. I'll be back." He let go slowly, and I turned to walk away.

**EPOV **

That girl was going to be the death of me. The way she moved on the dance floor earlier was causing the growth in my pants. I just wanted to throw her over my shoulder and take her home with me. I knew that this friendship time was important to us, but I wanted nothing more at this moment than to make love to her. I watched her dance and enjoyed the show until I saw the guy from a few weeks ago saddle up to her. I knew that I couldn't just stomp down there and demand her from him. She didn't seem happy to see him, so I came up with another plan.

We still had shots on the table that hadn't been done yet. I grabbed them and headed down. Once I had chased the guy away, I gave her the shot. Her smile and eyes were mesmerizing me. I took my shot just to try to calm myself down.

Once we started dancing, I could feel my heart beat pick up. I nearly fell out when she said my jeans made my cock look good. It was almost too much for me to take. I wanted her, now. Thankfully she had a bit more control than I do, and stopped us. I couldn't have done it.

While she headed to the bathroom, I went back to the bar for another drink. I was sitting there when I felt a hand on my upper arm. I assumed it was Bella, but was surprised when I turned around to see Tanya standing there.

"Hello Edward," she cooed. "How are you?"

"I was doing fine. What the hell are you doing here?" I turned back to my beer.

"It's a club; I'm here to dance of course." She laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"But you said that you hate this club. That's why we never came here." I narrowed my eyes at her smiling face. She was up to something. I wasn't stupid.

"Well, that was when I came with you and your friends. But I was hoping I'd run into you here tonight." She ran a finger up my thigh. "I would like to talk to you about where we left off last time."

"What? Are you crazy?" I slapped her hand off me. "Get the hell away from me."

"Awe… Edward, come on let's make up." She winked.

"No."

Bella stepped up on the other side of me and ordered a beer to drink. She looked at me, and then up at Tanya. I rolled my eyes to let her know that I didn't want to talk to Tanya.

"Oh Tanya, so good to see you again," Bella smiled. "Are you having a good time?"

Tanya was taken by surprise at Bella's pretend niceness. She looked at me, and then back to Bella.

"I'm having a good time. I'm trying to talk Edward into having an even better time, but he isn't playing nicely." She tried to run her finger up my thigh again, I went to slap at her but she moved quickly.

"Edward isn't playing nicely?" Bella fake pouted. "Well, that's just too bad. He was playing nicely with me a few minutes ago."

Bella placed her hand on my chest and nuzzled her nose into the crook of my neck. I felt her give me an open lip kiss on my neck. I shivered at her touch.

"Give me a break Bella. I see what you are doing, and it's not working!" Tanya screeched.

"What exactly am I doing?" Bella fluttered her eyelashes at Tanya, feigning innocence.

"You are trying to lay claim to him, and I know he isn't yours so just back off. I was here first, and I have no doubt that I will be here once you're gone."

"Umm... Shouldn't that be up to me?" I tipped back my beer and consumed the remaining contents. I grabbed Bella's hand. "Let's get out of here babe, this place obviously lets anyone in now."

Bella giggled and I leaned down to kiss her in the same spot on her neck that she had just kissed me. I heard a slight moan come from her,it wasn't helping me with my self control.

"Fine!" Tanya stomped her foot. "Whatever! I don't need you anyways! I have a real man here, and he was with me before you were gone."

She looked very pleased with herself. She had admitted to cheating with yet another guy while with me. I knew this revelation was supposed to hurt and humiliate me, but instead I just felt pity for her.

"Are you really that much of a whore Tanya?" I threw a ten on the bar to cover mine and Bella's drinks. "I can't believe that you would behave in such a disgusting manner. I am glad that you and I are no longer together, and I can promise you that we will never be again."

She huffed at me, and walked away. Bella took me by the hand and gave me a sympathetic smile. I just smiled back and shook my head.

"I'm not upset Bella. I couldn't care less about what or who Tanya has done. I'm finished with her, she's the past." Bella nodded in agreement and pulled me back to the dance floor.

We danced for two more songs when I noticed Tanya making her way towards us on the dance floor; she was with a tall Italian man. She smiled at us, and proceeded to do moves that probably should only be seen in the privacy of one's bedroom. I was sure that it was supposed to make me jealous, but all it did was make me laugh. She was making an ass out of herself on the floor, even if her partner didn't think so, and she wasn't even accomplishing what she wanted.

"Do you want to get out of here and away from her?" Bella asked me quietly. I thought for a moment. I didn't want Tanya to think that she had chased me away, but at the same time some alone time with Bella was a great idea.

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here." She grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her off the dance floor. Bella made sure to smile and wave to Tanya as we passed her. Tanya narrowed her eyes at us, but was quickly blocked by her partner. I contemplated telling him to wrap it before he tapped it, but no one told me so let him find out on his own too.

Bella sent a text message to Alice and Rose saying that we were leaving. We pushed our way out of the crowded club and into the crisp night air. I pulled Bella into my arms and held her close trying to keep her warm. I felt her snuggle into my chest and I kissed her forehead. We were quickly leaving the friend realm and entering something else. I had to figure things out before this went any further.

I opened her car door for her and she slid in quietly. After shutting the door, I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I had to decide what I wanted and I needed to do it soon, she wasn't going to wait forever.

I got in the driver's side and handed her the IPod.

"Find something?" I grinned at her and she nodded. A few minutes later we were listening to Nickelback and heading down the road.

"I know this is going to sound stupid, but where do you want to go? We never decided?" I asked. I had just started driving.

"Well, let's get some take out and head to one of the apartments." She shrugged. She didn't seem to notice my stress at the situation at all.

Thirty minutes later we pulled up to my apartment with take out in hand. As I unlocked the door to the apartment, I glanced back at Bella. She was staring off into the night sky with a peaceful look on her face. She trusted me so much already, and I needed to return that trust.

I knew that what happened before wasn't really her fault. She was trying to protect my heart and best interest at the same time. I imagine that the whole situation was impossible for her. After Rose apologized to me for how she treated me during the whole episode, I knew that Bella meant everything she had said before. If she went as far as telling Rose that she needed to apologize, which Rose never did before, then Bella really was sorry about her part in it all. She wanted to move forward and was just waiting for me.

If was honest with myself, I would admit that I was falling hard for this girl. She was everything that I would want in my other half, and more. I had dated several girls in the past, but none caused me the feelings that Bella did. Now I just had to stop stalling and do something about it.

We walked into the kitchen around and put the food on the breakfast bar.

"I got beer, milk, water and coke to drink. What's your poison?" I asked as I reached into the fridge.

"I'll take some water. I am that sure after all the drinking I did tonight I should try to rehydrate myself." She laughed lightly. We had drunk a lot. I wondered how someone so small could drink all that and still be standing.

We were digging into our noodles when she stopped and looked up at me.

"So, how are you? I mean about the whole Tanya incident. That was really shitty of her." Bella looked nervous. I guess she didn't want to bring up things that would upset me. She was making sure that I was okay, and for that I appreciated her even more.

"I'm fine Bella. I didn't love her, and getting over her was rather easy. Learning that she was sleeping with someone else besides me and Jake just seems to be the icing on the cake. Maybe I should call Jake and let him know." I took a sip of my water with a smile on my face. I bet Jake would love that.

"Um, how about let's not and say you did." She smiled back. She stood up and headed to the trash with her container and empty water bottle.

"What do you want to do know?" I asked. I hadn't planned past this part. "Want to watch a movie?"

Bella was about to answer when she let out a long, loud yawn. She covered her mouth quickly and looked embarrassed.

"I guess I got my answer." I laughed at her. She gave me a playful glare and shook her head.

"I can call Alice to pick me up on her way home…" I interrupted her thought.

"If you think that Alice is going to be anywhere but up Jaspers ass, you are crazy. I would bet that they are already at the apartment and very busy." I pulled out my phone; it was just past two in the morning.

"But you can't drive me home, you're tired too." She protested.

"Who said you had to go home? You can stay over here. I promise not to bite." I winked at her, and watched as the blush crept up her neck to her face.

"You got something I can wear?" She asked nervously.

"I'm sure that Tanya left something here…." Before I could tell her I was kidding she threw her empty water bottle at me. As it hit me in the head I laughed and held my hands up to surrender. "I was kidding, I was kidding. I'll give you some of my clothes."

"That wasn't nice!" She pouted at me. I walked over and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I won't joke about that witch again." I kissed her cheek and she smiled at me again.

We went into my room and I pulled out some clothes for us both. I had a pair of pajama bottoms that my mom had bought me years ago that were too small so I gave her those and a t-shirt to Bella. She smiled shyly and went into my bathroom to change.

I almost asked her not to go in there. I wanted her to stay in here with me. I wanted to undress her. I took a deep breath and quickly changed myself. I needed to get under control before she came back out. I sat on the bed and took a few breaths, but I still wasn't ready for the vision that stepped out of my bathroom.

She had to roll the pants some because they were way too big and too long for her. The shirt hung almost to her knees, but she still wore my shirt, so it looked damn sexy. She ran her fingers through her hair and yawned again.

"Come on," I patted the bed. "You look like you are about to pass out."

"I feel like it." She giggled. "Beware, I am a cuddler. I can't help it; I do it in my sleep."

She crawled over to the side of the bed that was directly up against the wall. I lied down next to her and put my arms behind my head.

"That's okay, I'm a cuddler too, and I can't blame it on my sleeping. I do it on purpose." I took wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. She smiled up at me and snuggled deeper into my chest. I heard her sigh contently.

"Bella, we are going to have to have a talk tomorrow." I said softly. "I think we need to reevaluate our situation. I'm no longer happy with how it is."

She looked up at me, and there was fear on her face. I didn't understand at first, but then I realized that my words sounded very negative.

"No, it's nothing bad, Bella. I promise." I kissed her forehead and she settled back into her earlier spot.

"Okay, tomorrow we talk and reevaluate." She kissed the spot on my chest that was directly in front of her face. "Tonight we sleep."

I chuckled at her. Her voice was starting to slur and she sounded so sleepy.

"Yes, my Bella, tonight we sleep." I closed my eyes and let the night take me.

**Okay, review away! So do we have them declare themselves? Or maybe they decide to back off again? Is Eddie ready to trust her? Is she ready for another relationship? We don't rebounds! Oh the drama. ;) Review or I'll make Edward go back to Tanya.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/n at the bottom.**

**Relationships**

**BPOV**

The night I fell asleep in Edwards arms, I was a little worried about what he would say the next morning. He had been adamant that we needed time to get over our exrelationships before we moved on with each other. Now he wanted to talk about us. Was it possible that he was going to tell me he was ready for a relationship? Or was he going to tell me that we were once again moving to fast and that we had to slow down? I was so exhausted that I didn't have a choice but to snuggle into his chest and go to sleep no matter how worried I was. What came in the morning came. There was nothing that I could do about it.

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed. I reached over before opening my eyes and felt the bed for Edward to find an empty spot. My heart dropped to my stomach. Where had he gone? It was his bed and his apartment so obviously he hadn't high tailed it out of there, but why wasn't he in bed? I crawled out of bed and began looking for him. I finally found him in the kitchen unpacking a brown paper bag.

"Hey," he smiled when he saw me. "There really isn't anything to eat here, so I figured that I'd get us some breakfast from the café on the corner. I got some muffins and mochas. I hope that's okay."

I let out a sigh of relief. He had only gone to get breakfast. He hadn't decided that he wanted me out.

"That's great. Thanks." I took the coffee that was meant for me and took a sip. "It's good."

"Yeah, Starbucks has nothing on this place." He took a sip and removed the wrapper from the muffins. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Great."

"Liar," he laughed. "You tossed and turned all night. Was my bed really that uncomfortable to you?"

I looked at the floor. I didn't want to admit my insecurities to him. Would I sound like a whiner if I told him what kept me from sleeping peacefully last night? Would he understand that I was worried how this morning would go? Would it make him feel guilty if he had decided that being friends was all that we could be? I wanted to melt into the floor at that moment and not have to answer him at all.

"No, your bed was very comfortable, and being snuggled with you made it even more comfortable." I blushed. Being snuggled with Edward was the best part of his bed.

"So what kept you tossing all night Bella? Tell me the truth." His eyes softened. I couldn't lie to that face.

"I was worried about what you said last night, about us talking this morning. I am worried about what you are going to say about our relationship." I confessed. The butterflies in my stomach had butterflies at this point. I would have run out of the room if my legs hadn't felt like they were made out of rubber at that exact moment.

"Why are you so nervous about that Bella? I thought I made it clear how I felt about you?" He leaned over and kissed my cheek. A stray piece of hair had fallen in my face, and he pushed it behind my ear. "Bella, don't be nervous, unless of course your feelings have changed. And if they have, you need to just tell me now."

"No, Edward my feelings haven't changed. These past few weeks have been great. I have enjoyed getting to know you more and spending time with you. The more we spend time together the more I feel like we belong together, but I don't want to push you." I swallowed. Why was this conversation so damn difficult to have?

"I've enjoyed it too. I also feel like we belong together Bella. I've really never had these types of feelings about someone else. I've had girl friends in the past, but I've never wanted to be with someone so badly as I want to be with you. When we are apart I think about what you are doing and if you are thinking about me. When we're together I just want to wrap my arms around you and not let go. I think my crush on you has grown to full fledge love at this point and that scares the hell out of me."

"Why does that scare you Edward? Are you worried that I don't feel the same way?" I was completely confused. If he was falling in love with me then why was he scared? I was scared, but it was because I didn't want to lose him.

"I'm scared for a lot of reasons. First off, I've never felt this way, and I don't know how to act. I don't want to be your rebound. I worry that you don't feel the same. I am scared that these feelings might die out and then we will hate each other. I worry that you will do to me what Tanya did." The last words were almost a whisper.

"That I would do what Tanya did?" That completely pissed me off. "Did you forget that Jake did the same thing to me? Did you forget that I know what that pain feels like? I loved Jake, and he stomped my heart like it was dog shit. How could you even think that I would do that to you?"

"Don't be angry Bella, please." He pleaded. But there was no way that I couldn't be mad or hurt. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't know how I am supposed to trust anyone a hundred percent again."

"Like I am able to go into a relationship trusting the other person completely? I thought the whole point of us taking these weeks to be friends or whatever was so we could relearn to trust each other?" I pushed my muffin away, I had lost my appetite.

"You are right, that was the point. And I do trust you. Its just that if someone who didn't love me could hurt me that bad, how much worse would it be if it were someone I loved?" He said.

"That's the difference Edward." I slammed my hand palm first on the table. "She didn't love you. She did what she did and she didn't love you. Jake didn't love me. He said he did, but truthfully he just wanted me to be his to control. They didn't love us Edward. If they had, they wouldn't have been able to do what they did. I do love you. I couldn't do that to you. And I know that you love me and you couldn't do that to me. That's the huge difference here."

Oh shit, I just admitted that I loved him. What the hell was I going to do now? He was staring at me with his mouth gaped open. I saw him open and close it several times like he was going to say something, but then changed his mind.

I walked out of the room and went back to his room. After getting dressed, I went back to the living room where he was still sitting. He looked in shock. I wasn't going to stick around for him to tell me that I was asking too much or that he didn't know if he could trust me. I slipped on my shoes and walked out the front door.

**EPOV**

Oh shit, she said she loved me. I told her that I didn't know if I could trust her, and she still told me that she loved me. I think she scared the crap out of herself by saying that. I wanted nothing more than to scope her up and kiss her deeply. So why didn't I do that? Because I'm a moron, that's why.

She went into the bedroom to dress and I was trying my damnest to come up with a way to tell her that I loved her too. I know I had told her that my crush was turning to a crush, but I never did say that I loved her. I was testing the waters to see what she would say if I just admitted that much. I never imagined that she would admit that she loved me already. I was still lost in my thoughts when I heard the door shut.

What the hell was going on? She left. Oh shit, she left because I didn't respond to her. I had to stop her and tell her I loved her. Damn it feet, move. I stood up and headed to the door. When I got outside, I saw her headed to the bus stop. She was going home, or bus hopping depending on how she was feeling. I couldn't let her get that far.

"Bella!" I yelled to her. She looked up with a confused expression. "Please stop!"

I began running towards her. It was raining, so as I ran I was splashing through puddles and getting soaked. But it didn't matter. I had to tell her that I loved her and that I didn't want her to go. That was what I really wanted to tell her this morning, but I just went about it all wrong.

She stood still and continued to stare at me as I ran to her. When I finally reached her I pulled her to me and buried my head in her neck.

"Please, please don't leave." I was able to get out.

"Edward, I can't be friends anymore. I can't deny my feelings." Tears were pouring down her face.

"Good." I looked her right in the eyes.

"What? What do you mean good?" Her confused expression was adorable. I smirked at her.

"Good, because I don't want to be your friend anymore either, I love you. I love you Bella. I was trying to work the courage up to tell you and then I screwed it up and…" I was interrupted by her lips meeting mine. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip and requested entranced. She opened her lips for me and my heart soared. I poured ever ounce of love that I felt for her in that kiss.

"Ms. Swan, will you do me the honor of coming back to my apartment with me and getting out of this rain. We have some talking to do, and I promise to try not to be a brain dead moron this time." I kissed her forehead.

"I think that can be arranged." She smiled.

I was finally able to wrap my arm around her like I had wanted to do for so long and lead her back to my apartment.

After changing into some dry clothes and lots of kisses, we fell into my bed. I looked at her adoringly and sighed. Suddenly everything in the world just felt right. I could see in her eyes that she felt the same. We were going to be okay. We were going to be great.

**Guess what? That's it folks. Thats their ending. Disappointmented? Sorry, but frankly the story could have gone on and on. We dealt with all the issues (Jake, Tanya, lying, relationship) there were to deal with. Now they have an open ending to do as they please. I tried to write a lemon but I at thirty years old am not mature enough to talk about someones long, strong member without breaking out into stupid giggles. ;) Keep an eye out, I am starting a new story soon and its a serious one. I have almost completed the outline for it. I think it will be worth reading**.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/n- You guys seriously, seriously scare me. Heres you HEA. Now make the hate mail stop....LOL **

**Epilogue. **

**2 years later**.

**BPOV **

"Alice, please get me some dry toast. Please, I beg you for toast and tea." I gave her the best puppy dogs' eyes I could manage.

"Fine!" She turned and headed out of the bathroom area of the suite. "But only because you are so delicate right now, and Edward would kill me if I denied you this one request."

"Thank you Alice." I smiled and batted my lashes at her. I was nine weeks pregnant and the nausea was enough to make me want to lie in bed all day crying. The only thing I had been able to keep down was tea and dry toast. There could be nothing on the toast or I would vomit immediately. And I didn't want to be vomiting today.

Edward had asked me to marry him a year ago, and I of course screamed YES! We were so happy together and the thought of being his wife made my heart sing. We were planning on an elaborate wedding in Italy, mainly to please his family, but then I found out I was pregnant.

Seeing how I didn't want to look like I had smuggled a watermelon in under my gown we moved it up. That was fine by both Edward and me. Neither of us wanted the wedding in Italy, we both wanted a very simple wedding.

We found a small chapel that had an amazing view, and we both fell in love with it. I booked it immediately. Alice and I shopped for a dress that same day. She was furious that I was buying off the rack, but we didn't really have time for much else. I chose a simple ivory gown that was strapless and flowed as I walked. It was perfect.

Rose was my maid of honor, so I let her handle everything that had to do with those dresses and arrangements. She chose red dresses for her and Alice. They had spaghetti straps on them, and were made of satin. Of course both of them looked hot in them. Jasper and Emmett wore a regular tux with a red Gerber daisy pinned on.

"Ouch Rose!" I cried out. She was rolling my hair in hot rollers and just burned the shit out of me.

"Just shut it. Beauty can be painful. You better not have screwed up your toes either! Now sit still while I do my hair!" She glared at me for a moment but then a smile crossed her face. "You are getting married, and its not to the dog!"

I busted out laughing. I was not marrying Jake and that had to be one of the best things about today. As a matter of fact I hadn't heard from Jake in years and I was pretty damn pleased about it. His garage went under not long after we broke up, and he moved back to the reservation. His father found him a job working at a shop there in Forks. He was dating a girl on the reservation the last I heard.

"I know! I can't wait to walk down that aisle!" I squealed. I was normally not a girly girl, but hell this was my wedding and I was allowed to squeal.

"Here is your damn toast. You better make it through the ceremony without puking!" Alice handed me the cup and toast.

"The baby thanks you Auntie Alice." She always melted when I did that.

"Oh hush Swan! Quit manipulating me with that baby!" She crossed her arms. Then leaned in and hugged me. "We are going to be sisters and you are going to be a momma!"

The only person that was more excited than Alice was Esme. They both had already planned out a visitation schedule for the baby. They wanted it every second that Edward and I weren't holding the baby. This was going to be one spoiled grandchild.

"I almost forgot, this is for you," Alice went to her bag and pulled out a small box. It had a ribbon on it and a note.

_Bella-_

_I can't believe you are giving me the honor of being my wife. My wife and the mother of my child. I love you with all my heart, now and forever._

_Love-_

_Edward _

I opened the box and there inside was a necklace. On the necklace were baby shoe charm and a heart charm. One for Edward and one for the baby. My heart fluttered. He was always so romantic.

"Alright Bella, lets get these curlers out and the dress on. The ceremony is in twenty minutes." Rose began pulling out the curlers one by one while Alice touched up all the makeup she had put on me earlier.

Before I knew it I was standing with Charlie waiting for the music.

"I love you baby girl." He smiled at me.

"I love you too Daddy." I kissed his cheek.

"You are happy right? This isn't another Jake issue, right?" He looked seriously at me.

"Dad, of course not! I love Edward!" I couldn't believe he would ever say such a thing.

"I am just making sure baby girl." He smiled again and kissed my forehead. All the sudden my music started. "Time to go."

I took a deep breath, smiled and nodded to him. Time to get married.

**EPOV **

I had been a nervous wreck all day waiting for this moment. I couldn't wait to see her walk down that aisle. I knew she'd be breath taking.

I had found the charms for the necklace last week and knew instantly that they were perfect for her. It would be a wonderful wedding present. She was going to be my wife, and soon we'd be welcoming the first of hopefully several children. My Bella was perfect, and I had no doubt that our children would be just as beautiful as her.

When she stepped in the chapel on Charlie's arm, I caught my breath. She was beyond breath taking, she was heart stopping. The dress hugged every curve that she had just right. Her hair was in loose curls laying softly on her shoulders. Never had she been more beautiful. I was sure that the glow was natural and due to our child growing in her stomach.

When we found out she was pregnant we both freaked out at first. We weren't ready to be pregnant. Hell, we hadn't finished planning the wedding. But after a day I realized that I didn't care about a huge wedding, and we were only doing to please Esme anyways. I told Bella that I wanted to marry her immediately and she threw her arms around my neck. The kiss that she gave me sent an electric shock all the way to my toes.

I smirked as I remembered tossing her on the bed and making love to her for hours after that. Every time we made love it was like the first time all over again. I planned on making love to her for the rest of my life.

Finally they reached the alter and Charlie handed her hand to me.

"You hurt her, I will kill you." He said in his stern father voice. I heard Bella giggle lightly. I knew he wasn't kidding.

"Of course sir. I would never." I nodded to him and he took his seat next to Rene.

I took both her hands in mine and smiled at her. Her smile melted my heart.

"Hello Ms. Soon to be Cullen." I smirked at her.

"Hello Mr. Cullen." She chewed her bottom lip. I knew that standing in front of all these people was driving her nuts. Her nerves had to be going nuts. On top of that she had horrible all day sickness, so this was going to be trying for her.

"Let's get started…" The priest began.

***********************************

The wedding was over, and we had survived the reception. Rose caught the bouquet and winked at Emmett. He just laughed and shrugged in typical Emmett fashion.

Jasper refused to even try for the garter belt because he said there was no way he was putting it on his sister. In the end one of my uncles caught it. He very much enjoyed putting it on Roses leg; high on her leg. But Rose was a great sport about it and even grabbed his face to plant a kiss on him. My aunt laughed until she nearly peed herself.

Our first dance was actually a recording of a song I had composed for Bella. She said she'd have it no other way. We ran out of the reception hall while being pelted with rice. Whoever came up with that tradition was obviously single.

I looked at my wife, asleep, in the back on the limo. I leaned in and kissed her cheek. She was exhausted between the day and being pregnant. I was so lucky to have her.

"Mmmm....are we there yet?" She questioned.

"Almost, the hotel is a few blocks down." I put her hand in mine. "Then you can sleep in the morning before we head to the airport."

"Still not going to tell me where we are headed huh?" She smiled at me.

The honeymoon was all mine, and I wasn't telling her a damn thing. She was just going to have to wait. I had booked a villa on a private island for two weeks. No one would bother us, except for one hour a day to clean. That was it.

The limo pulled in and the bellhops came out to get our bags. Jasper had already checked us in and gave me the keys so there was no stopping. When she stepped out of the limo I scooped her into my arms and carried her inside.

"Edward, I'm pregnant, not dying." She protested.

"Humor me." I winked at her.

We got in the elevator and I still refused to put her down. It wasn't until we were in our room that I put her down, directly on our king size bed.

"Now, you lay here while I get you a bath started. I am also going to call room service for some toast and tea for you." I kissed her again and slipped out.

*************************

Two hours later, we had shared a bath and both got something in our stomachs. We were laying in bed staring at one another.

"I can't believe that today really happened! I am really your wife." She smiled at me.

"Yes you are. I am so pleased that you decided to stick with me." I nuzzled her neck.

"Where else would I go?" She giggled. I leaned in and kissed her passionately.

"I don't know, but I know that if you weren't here I'd wouldn't be this happy." Slowly I pulled her nightgown up over her head and began to kiss down her collarbone. "Ms. Cullen would you do me the honor of letting me make love to you tonight?"

"Umm…that sounds like a wonderful idea. And believe me, the honor would be all mine." She ran her hands through my hair.

I ran my tongue down her shoulders to right between her breasts. I teased her for a moment before taking her left nipple in my mouth and suckling gently. I remembered she had complained that her breasts were tender. She jumped.

"No baby. Please don't. I am sorry, but I can't take it." She breathed out.

"Not a problem, I have plenty of other things to work with." I kissed her from head to toe and everything in between. I brought her to release with my tongue once before taking my own boxers off.

"Are you ready for me Mrs. Cullen?" I whispered in her ear.

"Always, Mr. Cullen, always." She whispered back.

I entered her slowly and held her to my body as I did so. I wanted to feel her skin against mine as I made love to her. I kept up a gentle pace knowing that anything more could cause her to have a moment of sickness. When I finally felt the tightening in my stomach, I cried out to her.

"Please, baby, please cum with me." I struggled to hold on until she released. Suddenly I felt her milky me.

"Edward!" She called out.

I grunted in satisfaction as I released into my beautiful new bride. I collapsed next to her and panted until I could get my breath under control again. When I was able to breath right again, I pulled her to me. She snuggled into my chest and sighed.

"I love you Edward." She kissed my chest.

"I love you too Bella, forever and Always." I closed my eyes and slept my first night with my forever love.


End file.
